A Proof of Self-Proof; 10 of 15

          Do I exist?

          What a hazardous question that is! For I am trapped into mathematical error whether I answer yes or no.

          If I deny that I exist, then wouldn’t that be self-refutation? What a shame! But worse, if I affirm that I exist, then my affirmation would proclaim its own existence, which would be something to be proud of.

          Suppose that I were to prove that I exist; and suppose that people noted down my proof; and suppose that some scholar came along a century later to inspect my proof. Would it still be valid?

          Therefore I cannot prove that I exist! My existence is not only unprovable, it’s unlikely. When I contemplate the realities of my existence, I perceive that I am an improbable person. The fact that I exist can only be called a marvel, a wonder, a mystery and a miracle, utterly beyond belief! And the same goes for you, dear reader; for I doubt that your existence makes any more sense than mine.

          Do I exist? I doubt it! So unask the question. Never mind if I exist or not, that’s a dubious contingency at best; better to ask if I am necessary. And my answer to that question is ‘yes’.  I am glad to affirm that – to me at least – I am absolutely necessary!

          That’s vain, of course, for such is the vanity of faith. But that very vanity makes it universal; for don’t you, dear reader, consider yourself absolutely necessary – to yourself at least? Don’t you have implicit trust in you?