>Yes, but it depends on what you mean by "exist", right? I phrased it the
>way I did because these core beliefs are meant for public consumption
>and not everyone understands the subtle differences between the
supernatural
>and the <supernatural>. Lately I've been thinking of defining existence
>as a pattern that is instantiated in matter and/or energy, i.e.
information
>manifested. Does that resonate with anyone else's intuitions?
So you're saying that the "public" can't grasp the notion that a phenomenon
is different from a memetic construct of that phenomenon and you should
therefore define 'existence' as a 'pattern instantiated in matter and/or
energy'. Why would that definition preclude the supernatural anymore than
the current usage of the term does? --David R.