Do I still exist?

[sydney]

The question then becomes even if we know we exist, if it is unacknowledged by others, then our existence may be insignificant. As Jean Paul Sartre said "we only know ourselves through others".

I thank you all for your comments in this discussion and I like the philosophical direction in which it is heading.

I'm glad we're getting philosophical

Remember when the Large Hadron Collider was about to be switched on for the first time, and people were worried that it might create a black hole which would destroy the Earth? That got me thinking: if the Earth and all life on it was destroyed, would it matter? What difference would it make to the Universe? There would be no humans left to be upset about it!

But I think it would matter. I think the purpose of life is to provide meaning to the Universe. Without life, the Universe would be a mindless, pointless mass of gas and dust. But intelligent life is capable of observing, appreciating and (to some extent) understanding the Universe. A beautiful sunset is pointless without intelligent life to appreciate it. In fact, the sunset wouldn't even be beautiful, because beauty can only exist in the mind of a living creature.

When I watch wild birds and other animals in my garden, I think, "These creatures are providing meaning to the Universe, and that's their wonderful purpose."

The question for me is not so much whether I exist, but whether it matters that I exist if no one else knows that I exist. If I'm the only one aware of my existence, is it significant at all?

Yes it most definitely is. You are a wonderful thinking intelligent rare living being in a cosmos which is 99.99999% empty space and lifeless dust. You are contributing uniquely to the meaning of the Universe, simply by existing.

OK, maybe getting a little too philosophical now

i love philosophy the universe is just a construct of out imiaginations it doesnt even really exist we are just living inside a computer and were created by the "others" as an experiment into their own conciousness if you dont believe me just look it up on the internet heha