judgments, and mental acts can neither be relied upon to have any non-subjective material content nor be relied upon to convey any objective knowledge of external reality. Existence, according to Hägerström, is an objective feature of reality that has reality independently of thought or the subjective frame of mind.That which actually does exist is necessarily real, but that which is real does not necessarily exist. Existence includes reality, but reality does not necessarily include existence (see Filosofiskt lexikon).A thing, for example, an apple exists and is thus real. However, a concept, a thought or some other subjective frame of mind may be real (that is, non-contradictory) as is the case with the geometrical concept triangle, but it is not necessarily the case that there actually does exist a physical figure that constitutes a perfect rendition of a triangle. Existence logically implies reality, but reality does not logically imply existence. Existence and reality are thus not universally logically equivalent. The terms are only equivalent when we are talking of objects, but not necessarily so when we talk of concepts. Concepts may very well be real without having any existence as non-subject dependent entities - things. Reality only implies the lack of formal contradictions; thus, reality and the lack of formal contradictions are logically equivalent. Existence is thus not a logical predicate but a factual predicate, a predicate that entails that once a thing’s existence is determined we need not go beyond that existence to verify that thing’s reality, as it is real by virtue of its existence. Since Hägerström is of the opinion that existence per se is real and reality is a predicate of existence, then the metaphysical investigation into the reality behind the existing is made redundant, hence Hägerström’s ontology implies a use of the principle of parsimony, dismissing any metaphysical quests for a thing’s true reality. On the other hand, since existence is not a predicate of reality, it is thus not superfluous, but probably necesp a r t i i i , c h a p t e r 3 212 3. 2 . 2 excur sus : real i ty and exi stence
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