Have you ever questioned your own existence?

Question

Your own existence?
Consciousness?
Sanity?
tell me your thoughts on this: I'm curious. =]

As for the person who brought up this "god", sorry if I offended your beliefs, but don't shove them down everyone elses throat.
This "god" has shoved you into your own ignorance and fear.
As for the rest of you, I like the response so far. =]

Answer 1

I did once, question my existence. but then i realized..if i didn't exist, whose clothes are these in my closet?
so i put on my favorite t-shirt
whistled a happy tune
and went about my business.

Answer 2

Yes, because I'm pretty damn sure I have this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization . At least, I have all the symptoms of it, it matches perfectly, and I was experiencing it way before I knew what it was called, but I haven't been diagnosed by a doctor.

It's not cool, it's not intellectual, it's just terrifying. Worst feeling in the world, really.

However, when I'm reasonable well grounded I often think about the nature of things...specifically, what makes something exist? I actually asked this here to see if anyone could explain but the answers all sort of begged the question. People either said, "To have meaning," which was completely off the mark, or something like, "It has physical properties that I can test through my sense of [blank]." Now, for the latter one, what makes those properties exist? What makes those senses exist? It's an ultimately rather pointless question that takes up a lot of my time.

After a lot of thinking about why we're here and the meaning of it all, I've come to the conclusion that there is no reason humans exist on this little planet. I don't believe in a deity. I think that while we're enjoying our extremely unlikely lives, we should be kind, loving and helpful towards others, and not fu;ck up the planet because this is our only shot.

Answer 3

Read Derrida's essay on Paul Valery in Margins of Philosophy for a different take on the Desecrates and the Western quandary on "certainty." The experience of Presence is more important than the discursive questioning of existence. 5000 thousands years and Western Philosophers have never learned that the brain is smarter than the literary discursive intellect. The brain runs our bodily systems and coordinates our hunting ,gathering ,sexual, and other social activities with others. Only the midget literary intellect questions the wisdom of our parasympathetic nervous system. Concerning my existence their are unknown within me and unknown processes without. So the proper question is how may I exist in the dynamism of becoming.

Answer 4

Man is the only living creature that we know of that will question his very existence, his consciousness, and his sanity. Why does he do that if he already has these abilities to do so. What is the importance for having them? Why can't we get the answers from non living things or from other living creatures and things? Why does man alone want to have the answer to this?

At some point an ultimate crossroad of thought will enter to ones mind. What is the point of all knowledge? Is it to gain more more knowledge and more knowledge and more endless knowledge? Or is knowledge to lead man to truth?

Answer 5

i bumped my head and confirmed i existed well before i formulated the capactiy to metaphysically test it.

here's a few cliches about insanity
"insanity is being the only person who knows what you know"
"there is very fine line between genius and insanity"
"only the insane can truly judge that which is sane"
i find there is great knowledge in many cliches

you could not properly question consciousness until you have stepped outside of it but once you do all things become far more relevant, you stop having to exist in a single aspect because you are aware of the limited understandings based on your singularity of that aspect.thus you can be more effective.

i'm curious too it's good stuff curiousity

Answer 6

yes, well I think I know what your asking, like do I ever question whethe I am really here or if it's like just dream. Yeah I wonder sometimes if we are all just having out own individual dreams and we actually have complete control over what happens but just don't realize it, like in a dream when something bad happens, technically you could of stopped it, I have some dreams where I am aware I am dreaming and know that I could stop anything i wanted lol. But yeah it's interesting to think outside the box.

Answer 7

Yes. I wonder what is my purpose but now I understand what my purpose is. I question my consciousness. As far as my sanity, I would refer to it as(in)sanity.What if "all that seem is a dream inside a dream...."(Edgar Allen Poe). We are the slaves of death, immortal fools who engage in frivolous activities to reach a never ending stair to nowhere.Or are we the mass destruction of the universe, the System of a Down.~_~

Answer 8

Yes - I read Bishop Barkley and Descartes and both had me questioning the existence of the physical.

As to sanity - yes - although I only have to read one or two questions under R&S (and increasingly now - philosophy), questioning the validity of science and I know I'm sane

Answer 9

i question reality based on the fact that i am not sure anyone else is real..
i know i am.. i think, i feel, i hurt...
but inside others people minds are a blank... do they think?
they say they do... but you can never truly know...
you could be the only real thing in the world...
all other life and time just a memory...
loaded and aroused when you wake up and become consious
some grand illusion... the world just a myth around you...

but thats a very sad, depressing thought...

Answer 10

Ya many times...
when i think about the whole universe i feel i am nothing..i am not important for even to b recognised as a part of it. My ife time is so small in the context of the universe . sometimes i feel i am just another living thing like all in this world that r just not significant enough in the long run of this world.

Answer 11

Yes,I have! And to tell you the truth....it makes me worry about my life.There are moment when you start thinking about the meaning of your life and you realize that it will end some day.And what's next? You are not going to BE in life.I asked myself where I am going to go after I die. And for a small part of the second,I felt dizzy and going to faint.I was so scared.My aidvice is to think about it the less you can.It is "not good for your health".Trust me.The feeling is not pleasant.Just live your life and be happy living it!