Final answer:
The question examines a philosophical debate concerning the nature of existence beyond human consciousness. It connects with existentialist thought, which focuses on the reality of personal existence while acknowledging the uncertainty of external non-conscious entities, and the debate on whether abstract constructs like mathematics are discovered or created.
Step-by-step explanation:
The query delves into the philosophical realm, particularly concerning ontology and epistemology—the nature of being and knowledge. The existence of nonphysical entities, such as souls, spirits, and deities, can be contentious, as some posit that humans create these concepts while others argue they must be taken on faith. Exploring existentialist perspectives, one may discern that our confidence primarily lies in the certainty of our own existence and the existence of unconscious, non-free entities around us. This is grounded in a direct awareness of being and contrasts with the unknowability of phenomena outside our conscious experience.
Existentialists, like Nietzsche, suggest that the existence of things is something humans are keenly aware of, but whether this is a discovery of an independent reality or a human construction is debatable. For Immanuel Kant, and others following his thought, existence is not a predicate that can be simply added to the definition of a thing to assert its actuality in the world. In arguing for or against the existence of non-physical entities or God, we are often left with moral intuitions and reason rather than empirical evidence. Thus, one might contemplate whether consciousness, and things beyond it, have an existence independent of human perception or if they are inextricably tied to human belief and construct.
This line of thinking can be extrapolated to notions such as mathematics. Do we discover mathematical truths that exist independent of us or do we create them? These philosophical inquiries intersect with notions of human rights, the nature of consciousness, and theological arguments such as the cosmological and ontological, all seeking to understand the essence and foundation of existence beyond mere human conception.