[Micah]:
I disagree, concepts are not "things".
"Nothing" is a concept that does not exist nor refers to
anything in reality, whereas "something" is a concept
referring things or objects in reality.
Vocabulary aside, nothing is a working concept that has
never existed in reality.
Agreed, concepts are not "things". But do they not exist as ideas in our
minds? Getting beyond logical syntax, 'nothing' is not an existent, but
then neither is the subjective self.
I would say that nothing (let's call it 'nothingness' to avoid confusion) is
a logical possibility, although material existence (beingness) refutes it.
However, if being is only the "appearance" of reality created by experience,
as Hegel and the phenomenalists suggest, relative nothingness is as real as
relative beingness. In other words, the physical universe is a relational
system divided between the two.
My own view, as Craig knows, is that nothingness is the antithesis of
Essence. Since neither Nothing nor Essence "exists" by the common
definition of existence, nothingness is a 'potentiality' of Essence. By
this I mean it is the potentiality whereby existence is actualized by
Essence.
I define experience as "being-aware", which is a nothingness/otherness
dichotomy. What we are aware of is a reduced, valuistic impression of
Essence, and the "reductive agent" is relational nothingness. In my
ontogeny, this is what creates the experience of physical reality.
Please note that this creation hypothesis in no way contradicts the 'ex
nihilo' principle: neither man nor the universe comes from nothing.
Everything -- value, self-awareness, objective experience, and space/time --
is derived from the negation of a primary source. What my hypothesis
suggests is that our individualized experiential reality is less "real" than
the absolute source.
Your points are well taken, Micah. I only hope I haven't totally confused
you.
Regards,
Ham
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