Descartes coined the phrase I think, therefore I exist. His reasoning was that if I can doubt my existence, I can think. To have a thought necessarily requires that I have the capacity to think, and this means that I necessarily exist. However, he offered no means by which men might prove the existence of others. For all we know, the entirety of human history is but a dream of one man.
However, if one seeks to prove that someone did or did not exist, I suggest that you look at changes in human history and behavior. For example, to prove that Jesus existed, one need only look at the world before his existence is purported to have happened and look at the world afterward to see whether or not change was effected. If, upon examination, you discover that the world did indeed change then you have proven his existence. Whether or not he did the things that are claimed to have been done by him is another matter altogether, but you do have proof of his existence.
Were you to doubt the existence, indeed, of any historical figure one need only examine human history to see whether or not there were changes which occurred in the world after their purported existence to see whether a change was affected. If you doubt Hitler, look at the world prior to the dates when it was said that he lived and look at the dates after it is said that he died and see whether or not there is change. If yes, you have your proof of his existence.
The proof of any life, really, is the change that it effects on the world around it. Some of these changes are small, like whispers that an only be heard with great effort to locate them. Some of these changes are like shouts that reverberate across the hallways of time and it is easy to spot those shouts, to find their locus and thus their source. Jesus' existence changed, and continues to change, an entire world. In this is the proof of his existence.
However, if one seeks to prove that someone did or did not exist, I suggest that you look at changes in human history and behavior. For example, to prove that Jesus existed, one need only look at the world before his existence is purported to have happened and look at the world afterward to see whether or not change was effected. If, upon examination, you discover that the world did indeed change then you have proven his existence. Whether or not he did the things that are claimed to have been done by him is another matter altogether, but you do have proof of his existence.
Were you to doubt the existence, indeed, of any historical figure one need only examine human history to see whether or not there were changes which occurred in the world after their purported existence to see whether a change was affected. If you doubt Hitler, look at the world prior to the dates when it was said that he lived and look at the dates after it is said that he died and see whether or not there is change. If yes, you have your proof of his existence.
The proof of any life, really, is the change that it effects on the world around it. Some of these changes are small, like whispers that an only be heard with great effort to locate them. Some of these changes are like shouts that reverberate across the hallways of time and it is easy to spot those shouts, to find their locus and thus their source. Jesus' existence changed, and continues to change, an entire world. In this is the proof of his existence.
Comments
Post a Comment