The 5 W’s of Existence

Descartes once said, “I think, therefore I am”. This paper will be just that, a compilation

of thoughts. What does it mean to exist? The first answer to this question is another question.

Who am I? I am a self, and the first thing to know about the self. is that it is constructed. The self

is constructed inside the brain. The brain see’s itself as an object, like hey I’m a brain. Then it

see’s itself as a subject, like hey I exist to other objects. They interact with me. Lastly, the brain

see itself in a reality or to society, like hey if I do this, it will impact these things and everyone

will then think this of me. It requires being a subject, and object, and sense of existence in reality

to form thoughts (Chaffee, 2016, p. 257).

After the brain has established it is existing, it creates an identity for itself. This identity

becomes it’s ‘self’. The self constantly changes as new information is given to brain, information

like how to behave, social norms, socially acceptable concepts, new concepts of reality and

existence, and much more data. The self constantly adapts into a ‘new’ self and can therefore be

challenging to discover.

There are a few philosophies to how the self interacts with the environment around it.

Each philosophical concept is debatable and very insightful when examined. The first broad term

for a concept is called Free-Will. Free-Will is that each self makes decision independently and

according to it’s own will. The will of the self dictates how it interacts with it’s reality. The

decisions it makes, the actions it preforms, and all corresponding consequences are a result of

free-willed decision making.

The second broad termed concept is opposite to Free-Will, it is called Determinism.

Determinism is the basic idea that all the choices, actions, and corresponding consequences are
not a result of the self but rather predetermined. That everything is physical matter, and all matter

obeys physical laws. The predetermined laws show or govern how matter interacts with

eachother. Therefore, if traced, all actions of matter could be predetermined. All choices are also

governed by physiological forces. These forces vary from environment to psychological

elements such as mood and mental capacity.

Determinism and Free-Will clash in the philosophical world. Free-Will is closely tied to

responsibility. If choices are freely made, the consequences of those choices is held upon the

individual or object making that choice. However, if Determinism is correct, everything is a

chain reaction and responsibility is neglected because you can’t be held responsible for

something out of your control. It would also become apparent that the current reality our ‘selves’

find to be true would not be. It would be an illusion that actions our selves perform is not our

own and that is frustrating to imagine. While it is debatable, the author prescribes to the idea of

Free-will over determinism (Chaffee, 2016, p. 185).

Therefore, if the self is constructed and all corresponding actions are a result of free-will,

what else is there? The answer is the reality that self or individual finds itself in. Another heavy

topic is reality in general. How do you know what is real? What is reality?

Reality is a place made up of real stuff, so the key to finding reality is to find real stuff.

Let’s first examine reality. The brain uses the senses to gather all the information it receives from

it’s environment. Then it constructs where it is, what it is, and why it is. This information is

usually obtained through the senses: Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell, and Taste. These senses are

not absolute and only obtain information. The brain, after receiving the information, digests it. It

rationalizes and reflects upon itself and past experience and creates a reality from the data. It

uses the conscious and subconscious to accomplish this. However, the most common reality the
conscious returns to is reality. For an example, the current world, Earth. Is the most common

place my conscious creates. It continually awakens to Earth, Smells earth items. It tastes foods

known be associated with Earth. I see objects that I have learned to associate with Earth. And all

the other senses dictate the information I am receiving is Earth. My conscious always returns to

here so this environment is my reality. My senses continually confirm to brain and my ‘self’ that

this is what is real and the objects around me are real in connection to my reality.

This subject can be tricky because reality, is much like the self, in that it is constructed. If

my senses were to feed me information of a different reality, if I continually found my conscious

in that reality, it would become my reality. Earth then, would have become like a dream. It’s a

scary thought to speculate, but is there a ‘true’ reality? I would argue that there is not. I think

whatever reality an individual perceives is a ‘true’ reality. One can only know what is real if they

can perceive it to be real. Each reality therefore is individualized to the individual experiencing

it. What I think of as reality is not the same as a kid who lives in Asia. We are experiencing

different realities and my brain is only confirming that other people are experiencing this shared

reality. My brain could have very well created my reality and nothing but me is real. However, it

perceives it to be real and therefore it is.

So how does Free-Will, ‘Self’, and Reality all fit together? I think that is what existence

is. You find out what you are/who you are, you discover what you can do, and where you are.

Basically, you are discovering the 5 W’s to existence. The who, what, when, where, and why to

being.

It is important to discover the 5 W’s of existence because it enriches existence. One

major fear of mine is to live life in routine. Slowly going through life in a state that is regretful.
Never really experiencing the world around me but slowly living to die. I think if you don’t

experience the 5 W’s of existence then you accomplish the bare minimum of existing – existing.

This idea is best explained in Plato’s Allegory of The Cave. In this parable, Socrates tells

a story about cave-dwellers. Who are bound and only experience life as shadows on cave wall,

created by a fire they cannot see. He continues on to ask how reality and existence would change

if one of the dwellers were to escape and experience their new reality. How it would change

them. I think it heightened the existence of the escapee. I think the same can be said to those

learn the 5 W’s of their existence. You can resign to be a cave-dweller, happy with the shadows

on the wall and enjoying the protection of routine. Or, you can escape your binds and discover

the truth of your reality (Chaffee, 2016, pp. 236-240).

In conclusion, there are 5 basics questions to existence. Who? I am a self, constructed

inside my brain. When/where? In a reality, also constructed by brain with information given to

me by my sense. What? Acting in my reality according to the free-will of my self. Taking

responsibility for the actions I chose as I exist in my reality as my self. Why? That question is

still under investigation.

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 Works Cited

Chaffee, John. Philosophers Way. 5th ed., SAUSEgEMaN, 2016.

 Braxton Simon

4/19/2020

PHIL – 1000-403

Paper 2, Chapter 3 & 4