96-653: Dinotopia is a series of illustrated fantasy books, created by author and illustrator James Gurney . It is set in the titular Dinotopia, an isolated island inhabited by shipwrecked humans and sapient dinosaurs who have learned to coexist peacefully as a single symbiotic society. The first book was published in 1992 and has "appeared in 18 languages in more than 30 countries and sold two million copies." Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time and Dinotopia: The World Beneath both won Hugo awards for best original artwork. Since its original publication, over twenty Dinotopia books have been published by various authors to expand
192-563: A TV miniseries, a short-lived TV series, and an animated children's movie, were also produced. These are also set in the Dinotopia universe, but do not tie in directly with the main series. Most of them take place in the modern era, unlike the books, which are mostly set in the mid-19th century. The plot of the main Dinotopia books concerns Arthur Denison and his son, Will, and the various people they meet in their travels in Dinotopia. In
288-500: A building and being 443.2 meters tall , express what an object is like but do not directly describe whether or not that building exists. According to this view, existence is more fundamental than regular properties because an object cannot have any properties if it does not exist. According to second-order theorists, quantifiers rather than predicates express existence. Predicates are expressions that apply to and classify objects, usually by attributing features to them, such as "is
384-405: A butterfly" and "is happy". Quantifiers are terms that talk about the quantity of objects that have certain properties. Existential quantifiers express that there is at least one object, like the expressions "some" and "there exists", as in "some cows eat grass" and "there exists an even prime number". In this regard, existence is closely related to counting because to assert that something exists
480-546: A couple of semesters. Gurney met his wife, fellow artist Jeanette, as a sketching partner in Art Center College of Design , Pasadena , California. Together they moved to the Hudson Valley of New York , where they raised their two sons. Gurney welcomed his family around when painting, setting up a play space in the studio near his painting table. The couple are still avid outdoor painters, living in
576-430: A different thick concept of existence; he stated: "to be is to be perceived", meaning all existence is mental. Existence contrasts with nonexistence, a lack of reality. Whether objects can be divided into existent and nonexistent objects is a subject of controversy. This distinction is sometimes used to explain how it is possible to think of fictional objects like dragons and unicorns but the concept of nonexistent objects
672-527: A hierarchical structure. They believed a transcendent entity, called "the One" or "the Good", is responsible for all existence. From it emerges the intellect, which in turn gives rise to the soul and the material world. In medieval philosophy , Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109 CE) formulated the influential ontological argument , which aims to deduce the existence of God from the concept of God. Anselm defined God as
768-406: A logical property that every existing thing shares; they do not include any substantial content about the metaphysical implications of having existence. According to one view, existence is the same as the logical property of self-identity . This view articulates a thin concept of existence because it merely states what exists is identical to itself without discussing any substantial characteristics of
864-532: A long philosophical tradition in relation to the existence of universals. According to Platonists , universals have general existence as Platonic forms independently of the particulars that exemplify them. According to this view, the universal of redness exists independently of the existence or nonexistence of red objects. Aristotelianism also accepts the existence of universals but says their existence depends on particulars that instantiate them and that they are unable to exist by themselves. According to this view,
960-547: A million copies and was translated into 18 languages. Sequels of Dinotopia that are both written and illustrated by Gurney include Dinotopia: The World Beneath (1995), Dinotopia: First Flight (1999), and Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara (2007). Original artwork by Gurney from the Dinotopia books has been exhibited at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution ,
1056-456: A negative singular existential is true if the individual it refers to does not exist. Meinongianism has important implications for understandings of quantification. According to an influential view defended by Willard Van Orman Quine , the domain of quantification is restricted to existing objects. This view implies quantifiers carry ontological commitments about what exists and what does not exist. Meinongianism differs from this view by saying
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#17328014958771152-463: A nonexisting object. Closely related to the problem of different types of entities is the question of whether their modes of existence also vary. This is the case according to ontological pluralism, which states entities belonging to different types differ in both their essential features and in the ways they exist. This position is sometimes found in theology; it states God is radically different from his creation and emphasizes his uniqueness by saying
1248-424: A property of individuals while second-order theories say existence is a second-order property, that is, a property of properties. A central challenge for theories of the nature of existence is an understanding of the possibility of coherently denying the existence of something, like the statement: "Santa Claus does not exist". One difficulty is explaining how the name "Santa Claus" can be meaningful even though there
1344-482: A property of some but not all entities, was first formulated by Alexius Meinong . Its main assertion is that there are some entities that do not exist, meaning objecthood is independent of existence. Proposed examples of nonexistent objects are merely possible objects such as flying pigs, as well as fictional and mythical objects like Sherlock Holmes and Zeus. According to this view, these objects are real and have being, even though they do not exist. Meinong states there
1440-410: A robust explanation of why statements about what is possible and necessary are true. According to him, possible objects exist in possible worlds while actual objects exist in the actual world. Lewis says the only difference between possible worlds and the actual world is the location of the speaker; the term "actual" refers to the world of the speaker, similar to the way the terms "here" and "now" refer to
1536-458: A rock falls on a plant and damages it, or a plant grows through rock and breaks it. Abstract objects, like numbers, sets, and types, have no location in space and time, and lack causal powers. The distinction between concrete objects and abstract objects is sometimes treated as the most-general division of being. The existence of concrete objects is widely agreed upon but opinions about abstract objects are divided. Realists such as Plato accept
1632-438: A second-order property. According to second-order theories, to talk about existence is to talk about which properties have instances. For example, this view says that the sentence "God exists" means "Godhood is instantiated" rather than "God has the property of existing". A key reason against characterizing existence as a property of individuals is that existence differs from regular properties. Regular properties, such as being
1728-601: A small town in the Hudson Valley. Prompted by a cross-country adventure on freight trains, he and Thomas Kinkade coauthored The Artist's Guide to Sketching in 1982. Gurney and Kinkade also worked as painters of background scenes for the animated film Fire and Ice (1983), co-produced by Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta . Gurney's freelance illustration career began in the 1980s, during which time he developed his characteristic realistic renderings of fantastic scenes, painted in oil using methods similar to
1824-417: A strict sense, all negative singular existentials are false, including the assertion that "Ronald McDonald does not exist". Universalists can interpret such sentences slightly differently in relation to the context. In everyday life, for example, people use sentences like "Ronald McDonald does not exist" to express the idea that Ronald McDonald does not exist as a concrete object, which is true. Another approach
1920-401: A subclass of possible objects; creationists say that they are artifacts that depend for their existence on the authors who first conceived them. Intentional inexistence is a similar phenomenon concerned with the existence of objects within mental states. This happens when a person perceives or thinks about an object. In some cases, the intentional object corresponds to a real object outside
2016-671: A sunstone and half of a key – to the council at Waterfall City in an attempt to get a second expedition into the World Beneath. Dinotopia: First Flight (1999) was a prequel published by Gurney and included a board game. The main protagonist of the story is Gideon Altaire, a flight school student living in the capital city of Poseidos off the Dinotopian mainland, in which all organic life (save for humans) has been replaced by mechanical counterparts. After discovering an injured Scaphognathus named Razzamult, Gideon discovers that
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#17328014958772112-421: A universal that is not present in the space and time does not exist. According to nominalists , only particulars have existence and universals do not exist. There is an influential distinction in ontology between concrete and abstract objects . Many concrete objects, like rocks, plants, and other people, are encountered in everyday life. They exist in space and time. They have effects on each other, like when
2208-480: Is a difference between entities and the fundamental characteristics that make them the entities they are. Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) introduced this concept; he calls it the ontological difference and contrasts individual beings with being. According to his response to the question of being, being is not an entity but the background context that makes all individual entities intelligible. Many discussions of
2304-492: Is a first-order property or a property of individuals . This means existence is similar to other properties of individuals, like color and shape. Alexius Meinong and his followers accept this idea and say that not all individuals have this property; they state that there are some individuals, such as Santa Claus , that do not exist. Universalists reject this view; they see existence as a universal property of every individual. The concept of existence has been discussed throughout
2400-583: Is also a paleoartist who depicts and restores in his paintings extinct fauna such as both avian and non-avian dinosaurs. James Gurney was born on June 14, 1958, in Glendale, California . He grew up in Palo Alto , California , the youngest of five children of Joanna and Robert Gurney, a mechanical engineer. Growing up, he showed great interested in dinosaurs but found few books on the subject in his local library or school. The first dinosaur fossil he saw
2496-400: Is an elementary concept, meaning it cannot be defined in other terms without involving circularity. This would imply characterizing existence or talking about its nature in a non-trivial manner may be difficult or impossible. Disputes about the nature of existence are reflected in the distinction between thin and thick concepts of existence. Thin concepts of existence understand existence as
2592-405: Is an object corresponding to any combination of properties. A more specific criticism rejects the idea that there are incomplete and impossible objects. Universalists agree with Meinongians that existence is a property of individuals but deny there are nonexistent entities. Instead, universalists state existence is a universal property; all entities have it, meaning everything exists. One approach
2688-511: Is an object for any combination of properties. For example, there is an object that only has the single property of "being a singer" with no other properties. This means neither the attribute of "wearing a dress" nor the absence of it applies to this object. Meinong also includes impossible objects like round squares in this classification. According to Meinongians, sentences describing Sherlock Holmes and Zeus refer to nonexisting objects. They are true or false depending on whether these objects have
2784-503: Is between merely possible, contingent , and necessary existence. An entity has necessary existence if it must exist or could not fail to exist. This means that it is not possible to newly create or destroy necessary entities. Entities that exist but could fail to exist are contingent; merely possible entities do not exist but could exist. Most entities encountered in ordinary experience, like telephones, sticks, and flowers, have contingent existence. The contingent existence of telephones
2880-493: Is called negative singular existential and the expression Ronald McDonald is a singular term that seems to refer to an individual. It is not clear how the expression can refer to an individual if, as the sentence asserts, this individual does not exist. According to a solution philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) proposed, singular terms do not refer to individuals but are descriptions of individuals . This theory states negative singular existentials deny an object matching
2976-454: Is closely related to the problem of modes of existence. This topic is based on the idea that some entities exist to a higher degree or have more being than other entities, similar to the way some properties, such as heat and mass, have degrees. According to philosopher Plato (428/427–348/347 BCE), for example, unchangeable Platonic forms have a higher degree of existence than physical objects. The view that there are different types of entities
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3072-418: Is common in metaphysics but the idea that they differ from each other in their modes or degrees of existence is often rejected, implying that a thing either exists or does not exist without in-between alternatives. Metaphysician Peter van Inwagen (1942–present) uses the idea that there is an intimate relationship between existence and quantification to argue against different modes of existence. Quantification
3168-478: Is contradictory. This conclusion follows from the premises that one can only deny the existence of something by referring to that entity and that one can only refer to entities that exist. Universalists have proposed different ways of interpreting negative singular existentials. According to one view, names of fictional entities like "Ronald McDonald" refer to abstract objects , which exist even though they do not exist in space and time. This means, when understood in
3264-509: Is impossible because the world needs to contain at least all necessary entities. Entities that exist on a physical level include objects encountered in everyday life, like stones, trees, and human bodies, as well as entities discussed in modern physics , like electrons and protons. Physical entities can be observed and measured; they possess mass and a location in space and time. Mental entities like perceptions, experiences of pleasure and pain as well as beliefs, desires, and emotions belong to
3360-501: Is made between existence and essence . Essence refers to the intrinsic nature or defining qualities of an entity. The essence of something determines what kind of entity it is and how it differs from other kinds of entities. Essence corresponds to what an entity is, while existence corresponds to the fact that it is. For instance, it is possible to understand what an object is and grasp its nature even if one does not know whether this object exists. According to some philosophers, there
3456-481: Is no Santa Claus. Second-order theories understand existence as a second-order property rather than a first-order property. They are often seen as the orthodox position in ontology. For instance, the Empire State Building is an individual object and "being 443.2 meters (1,454 ft) tall" is a first-order property of it. "Being instantiated" is a property of "being 443.2 meters tall" and therefore
3552-461: Is not generally accepted; some philosophers say the concept is contradictory. Closely related contrasting terms are nothingness and nonbeing. Existence is commonly associated with mind-independent reality but this position is not universally accepted because there could also be forms of mind-dependent existence, such as the existence of an idea inside a person's mind. According to some idealists , this may apply to all of reality. Another contrast
3648-420: Is reflected in the fact that they exist in the present but did not exist in the past, meaning that it is not necessary that they exist. It is an open question whether any entities have necessary existence. According to some nominalists , all concrete objects have contingent existence while all abstract objects have necessary existence. According to some theorists, one or several necessary beings are required as
3744-410: Is related to the counting of objects; according to Inwagen, if there were different modes of entities, people would need different types of numbers to count them. Because the same numbers can be used to count different types of entities, he concludes all entities have the same mode of existence. Theories of the nature of existence aim to explain what it means for something to exist. A central dispute in
3840-561: Is studied by the subdiscipline of metaphysics known as ontology . The terms "being", "reality", and "actuality" are often used as synonyms of "existence", but the exact definition of existence and its connection to these terms is disputed. According to metaphysician Alexius Meinong (1853–1920), all entities have being but not all entities have existence. He argues merely possible objects like Santa Claus have being but lack existence. Ontologist Takashi Yagisawa (20th century–present) contrasts existence with reality; he sees "reality" as
3936-446: Is that an entity either exists or not with nothing in between, but some philosophers say that there are degrees of existence, meaning that some entities exist to a higher degree than others. The orthodox position in ontology is that existence is a second-order property or a property of properties. For example, to say that lions exist means that the property of being a lion is possessed by an entity. A different view states that existence
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4032-512: Is that singular existence can be expressed in terms of general existence. For instance, the sentence "Angela Merkel exists" can be expressed as "entities that are identical to Angela Merkel exist", where the expression "being identical to Angela Merkel" is understood as a general term. Philosopher Willard Van Orman Quine (1908–2000) defends a different position by giving primacy to singular existence and arguing that general existence can be expressed in terms of singular existence. A related question
4128-573: Is the predicate. Quantifier constructions can also be used to express negative existential statements; for instance, the sentence "talking tigers do not exist" can be expressed as "it is not the case that there exist talking tigers". Many ontologists accept that second-order theories provide a correct analysis of many types of existential sentences. It is, however, controversial whether it is correct for all cases. Some problems relate to assumptions associated with everyday language about sentences like " Ronald McDonald does not exist". This type of statement
4224-423: Is to assert that the corresponding concept has one or more instances. Second-order views imply a sentence like " egg-laying mammals exist" is misleading because the word "exist" is used as a predicate in them. These views say the true logical form is better expressed in reformulations like "there exist entities that are egg-laying mammals". This way, "existence" has the role of a quantifier and "egg-laying mammals"
4320-404: Is to say existence is the same as self-identity. According to the law of identity , every object is identical to itself or has the property of self-identity. This can be expressed in predicate logic as ∀ x ( x = x ) {\displaystyle \forall x(x=x)} . An influential argument in favor of universalism is that the denial of the existence of something
4416-558: Is to understand negative singular existentials as neither true nor false but meaningless because their singular terms do not refer to anything. Western philosophy originated with the Presocratic philosophers , who aimed to replace earlier mythological accounts of the universe by providing rational explanations based on foundational principles of all existence. Some, like Thales (c. 624–545 BCE) and Heraclitus (c. 540–480 BCE), suggested concrete principles like water and fire are
4512-407: Is whether there can be general existence without singular existence. According to philosopher Henry S. Leonard (1905–1967), a property only has general existence if there is at least one actual object that instantiates it. Philosopher Nicholas Rescher (1928–2024), by contrast, states that properties can exist if they have no actual instances, like the property of "being a unicorn". This question has
4608-801: The Norman Rockwell Museum , the Royal Tyrrell Museum and is currently on tour to museums throughout the United States and Europe. Most recently, he has written two art-instruction books: Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist (2009), a book about drawing and painting things that do not exist; and Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter (2010). These books are based upon Gurney's blog posts, in which he gives practical advice to realist and fantasy artists. On February 21, 2012, Gurney
4704-537: The history of philosophy and already played a role in ancient philosophy , including Presocratic philosophy in Ancient Greece , Hindu and Buddhist philosophy in Ancient India , and Daoist philosophy in ancient China . It is relevant to fields such as logic , mathematics , epistemology , philosophy of mind , philosophy of language , and existentialism . Dictionaries define existence as
4800-459: The types of existing entities revolve around the definitions of different types, the existence or nonexistence of entities of a specific type, the way entities of different types are related to each other, and whether some types are more fundamental than others. Examples are the existence or nonexistence of souls ; whether there are abstract, fictional, and universal entities; and the existence or nonexistence of possible worlds and objects besides
4896-480: The Hatchery. The Hatchery is a place where dinosaurs are born, tended by both dinosaurs and humans. The Denisons then set out to explore the island, hoping to find a means of returning to their old lives. Arthur and Will undergo a broad journey, circling the island, as they endeavor to learn the customs and culture of their new neighbors. Arthur in particular develops an interest in the scientific accomplishments of
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#17328014958774992-677: The Jason and Ulysses voyages for Tim Severin . The inspiration that came from researching these archaeological reconstructions led to a series of lost-world panoramas, including Waterfall City (1988) and Dinosaur Parade (1989). With the encouragement of retired publishers Ian and Betty Ballantine , he discontinued his freelance work and committed two years' time to writing and illustrating Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time , published in 1992. The book made The New York Times Bestseller List, and won Hugo , World Fantasy , Chesley , Spectrum , and Colorado Children's Book awards. It sold over
5088-531: The Skybax corps (an order acknowledged to be founded by Gideon Altaire), Oriana's granddaughter is the female protagonist, the character Zippo is said to have been the dinosaur partner of Sylvia (here the Nursery overseer and not a Skybax rider), and Lee Crabb's son Cyrus features as the antagonist . A TV series of thirteen episodes was produced later in 2002 as a result of the success of the miniseries, but none of
5184-446: The World Beneath, at the same time that Will and Sylvia are learning to fly with the Skybax. When he returns, he is fascinated by the ancient relics found there and is convinced that they may be key in enabling him to leave or explore the island. Will is at the time too young to marry Sylvia, but it is promised that they will. Arthur recognizes that his son has grown up, and they each accept the changes that are results of their new lives on
5280-454: The academic discourse about the nature of existence is whether existence is a property of individuals. An individual is a unique entity, like Socrates or a particular apple. A property is something that is attributed to an entity, like "being human" or "being red", and usually expresses a quality or feature of that entity. The two main theories of existence are first-order and second-order theories. First-order theories understand existence as
5376-443: The academic realists and Golden Age illustrators. He painted more than 70 covers for science fiction and fantasy paperback novels, and he created several stamp designs for the U.S. Postal Service , most notably The World of Dinosaurs in 1996. Starting in 1983, he began work on over a dozen assignments for National Geographic magazine, including reconstructions of the ancient Moche , Kushite , and Etruscan civilizations , and
5472-483: The actual world. These discussions cover the topics of the basic stuff or constituents underlying all reality and the most general features of entities. There is a distinction between singular existence and general existence. Singular existence is the existence of individual entities. For example, the sentence " Angela Merkel exists" expresses the existence of one particular person. General existence pertains to general concepts, properties, or universals . For instance,
5568-570: The adventures of Arthur and Will Denison to one degree or another. These are considered the main books of the series and establish the fictional world in which the others are set. Gurney keeps abreast with recent paleontological discoveries and has written then-newly discovered dinosaurs into his books, for example, including Giganotosaurus in The World Beneath and Microraptor in Journey to Chandara A children's flip-up version of
5664-478: The cast of the miniseries reprised their roles. In the later TV series, a group of people known as Outsiders live outside the laws of Dinotopia and pose an additional danger aside from the featured antagonists, which include Pteranodon , Tyrannosaurus , and Postosuchus . ABC originally planned to launch the series in September 2002, but decided to wait until Thanksgiving. ABC was somewhat disappointed by
5760-467: The city is planning to launch an attack on the mainland and conquer all of Dinotopia and that they have stolen the ruby sunstone from the pterosaur home of Highnest. Gideon is presented as the first ever Skybax rider, although the species he rode wasn't a Quetzalcoatlus northropi . A fourth Dinotopia book by James Gurney, Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara , was published in October 2007. In it, Hugo Khan,
5856-421: The concepts and visuals behind a Dinotopia movie that was never made. A number of Dinotopia video games have been produced: James Gurney James Gurney (born June 14, 1958) is an American artist and author known for his illustrated book series Dinotopia , which is presented in the form of a 19th-century explorer's journal from an island utopia cohabited by humans and dinosaurs . Gurney
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#17328014958775952-535: The descriptions exists without referring to a nonexistent individual. Following this approach, the sentence "Ronald McDonald does not exist" expresses the idea: "it is not the case there is a unique happy hamburger clown". According to first-order theories, existence is a property of individuals. These theories are less-widely accepted than second-order theories but also have some influential proponents. There are two types of first-order theories: Meinongianism and universalism. Meinongianism, which describes existence as
6048-464: The difference affects both God's features and God's mode of existence. Another form of ontological pluralism distinguishes the existence of material objects from the existence of space-time . According to this view, material objects have relative existence because they exist in space-time; the existence of space-time itself is not relative in this sense because it just exists without existing within another space-time. The topic of degrees of existence
6144-509: The entity exists. Ontology is the philosophical discipline studying the nature and types of existence. Singular existence is the existence of individual entities while general existence refers to the existence of concepts or universals . Entities present in space and time have concrete existence in contrast to abstract entities, like numbers and sets. Other distinctions are between possible , contingent , and necessary existence and between physical and mental existence. The common view
6240-438: The existence of merely possible objects. According to actualism , only actual entities have being; this includes both contingent and necessary entities but excludes merely possible entities. Possibilists reject this view and state there are also merely possible objects besides actual objects. For example, metaphysician David Lewis (1941–2001) states that possible objects exist in the same way as actual objects so as to provide
6336-417: The explanatory foundation of the cosmos. For instance, the philosophers Avicenna (980–1037) and Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) say that God has necessary existence. A few philosophers, like Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677), see God and the world as the same thing , and say that all entities have necessary existence to provide a unified and rational explanation of everything. There are many academic debates about
6432-456: The fashion of authors such as Edgar Rice Burroughs , the first and fourth books are written as if they were Arthur's journals , with Gurney going so far as to explain in the introductions how he happened to come across the old, waterlogged volumes. In Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time (1992), the Denisons are shipwrecked near Dinotopia and, after making it ashore, are found by the people of
6528-597: The first book was also issued. The Dinotopia Digest series consists of sixteen young adult novels penned by several different authors. These books feature other characters who are not specifically involved with the events of the main books, although characters from the main books (particularly the Denisons) have appeared in minor or cameo roles. Two full-length adult fantasy novels were also issued with Gurney's authority, written by Alan Dean Foster : Dinotopia Lost and The Hand of Dinotopia . Several video games, as well as
6624-703: The first time on 20 January 2004. This release has been discontinued and is out of print. On 15 March 2016, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the complete series on DVD in Region 1. A traditionally animated movie called Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone was published in 2005. It featured Alyssa Milano as 26, Malcolm McDowell as Ogthar, Jamie Kennedy as Spazz, Michael Clarke Duncan as Stinktooth, Kathy Griffin as Rhoga, Wayne Knight as Thudd, George Segal as Albagon, Diedrich Bader as John, Tara Strong as Mara, and Alec Medlock as Kex Bradley. It
6720-646: The highest type of existence, and saw material objects as imperfect and impermanent copies of Platonic forms. Philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BCE) accepted Plato's idea that forms are different from matter, but he challenged the idea that forms have a higher type of existence. Instead, he believed forms cannot exist without matter. He stated: "being is said in many ways" and explored how different types of entities have different modes of existence. For example, he distinguished between substances and their accidents , and between potentiality and actuality . Neoplatonists like Plotinus (204–270 CE) suggested reality has
6816-417: The idea that abstract objects have independent existence. Some realists say abstract objects have the same mode of existence as concrete objects; according to others, they exist in a different way. Anti-realists state that abstract objects do not exist, a view that is often combined with the idea that existence requires a location in space and time or the ability to causally interact. A further distinction
6912-563: The initial 5.7 million viewers and the poor ratings, but continued to air the series for a little while longer, pointing out that it had been an "odd viewing night overall." The series was finally canceled in December. Only six of the thirteen episodes were aired on ABC, but all thirteen were broadcast the following year in Europe and were released onto a three-disc DVD box set. Science-fiction veteran David Winning directed two episodes of
7008-587: The island. The first sequel, Dinotopia: The World Beneath (1995) focuses mainly on Arthur Denison's return expedition to the World Beneath and opens with Will fly testing an invention of his father, the Dragoncopter – a steam engine ornithopter modeled on the dragonfly . The Dragoncopter fails and Will is narrowly saved by Cirrus, his Skybax mount, before the Dragoncopter plummets into a waterfall. After returning from his first expedition in A Land Apart From Time , Arthur presents two items he discovered –
7104-399: The mental state, like when accurately perceiving a tree in the garden. In other cases, the intentional object does not have a real counterpart, like when thinking about Bigfoot . The problem of intentional inexistence is the challenge of explaining how one can think about entities that do not exist since this seems to have the paradoxical implication that the thinker stands in a relation to
7200-449: The miniseries. The failure both of the sunstones and of Dinotopian officials to adhere to the underlying meanings of their culture's philosophy caused several discontented people – a leader-in-training, Zippeau himself, and two twentieth-century Dolphinbacks, Karl and David – to embark on a quest that led ultimately to the World Beneath. The series is presented as a sequel of sorts to the books: Will Denison's daughter followed her father into
7296-465: The more-fundamental term because it equally characterizes all entities and defines existence as a relative term that connects an entity to the world it inhabits. According to philosopher Gottlob Frege (1848–1925), actuality is narrower than existence because only actual entities can produce and undergo changes, in contrast to non-actual existing entities like numbers and sets . According to some philosophers, like Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), existence
7392-520: The most-fundamental level. Materialists usually explain mental entities in terms of physical processes; for example, as brain states or as patterns of neural activation. Idealism, a minority view in contemporary philosophy, rejects matter as ultimate and views the mind as the most basic reality. Dualists like René Descartes (1596–1650) believe both physical and mental entities exist on the most-fundamental level. They state they are connected to one another in several ways but that one cannot be reduced to
7488-452: The mysterious and reclusive emperor of Chandara, an empire long since isolated from the rest of Dinotopia, has heard of Arthur Denison and Bix's exploits and sends them a personal invitation to his court. From 1995, James Gurney worked with a number of other authors on a series of short novels for children using the Dinotopia characters and themes, published by Random House : A 2002 four-hour TV miniseries produced by Hallmark Entertainment
7584-472: The natives, which far exceed that of any human culture. Among the subjects he studies are the flora of the island, the partnership of its inhabitants, and the existence of a place known as the World Beneath. This World Beneath is an explanation for Dinotopians surviving the saurian extinction ; according to the story, most of the Earth's dinosaurs were destroyed, whilst a few hid in vast caverns. These few became
7680-428: The nature of existence. Thick concepts of existence encompass a metaphysical analysis of what it means that something exists and what essential features existence implies. According to one proposal, to exist is to be present in space and time, and to have effects on other things. This definition is controversial because it implies abstract objects such as numbers do not exist. Philosopher George Berkeley (1685–1753) gave
7776-437: The original Dinotopians. No one has entered the World Beneath for centuries, but Arthur intends to do so. His son Will, on the other hand, has chosen to train as a messenger of the sky; a Skybax rider, who lives in symbiosis with his mount, the great Quetzalcoatlus (nicknamed Skybax ), a species of pterosaur . Training alongside Will is a girl called Sylvia, with whom Will falls in love. Arthur, for his part, travels into
7872-578: The other. Fictional entities are entities that exist as inventions inside works of fiction . For example, Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character in Arthur Conan Doyle 's book A Study in Scarlet and flying carpets are fictional objects in the folktales One Thousand and One Nights . According to anti-realism, fictional entities do not form part of reality in any substantive sense. Possibilists, by contrast, see fictional entities as
7968-429: The properties ascribed to them. For instance, the sentence "Pegasus has wings" is true because having wings is a property of Pegasus, even though Pegasus lacks the property of existing. One key motivation of Meinongianism is to explain how negative singular existentials like "Ronald McDonald does not exist" can be true. Meinongians accept the idea that singular terms like "Ronald McDonald" refer to individuals. For them,
8064-405: The realm of the mind; they are primarily associated with conscious experiences but also include unconscious states like unconscious beliefs, desires, and memories. The mind–body problem concerns the ontological status of and relation between physical and mental entities and is a frequent topic in metaphysics and philosophy of mind . According to materialists , only physical entities exist on
8160-414: The root of existence. Anaximander (c. 610–545 BCE) opposed this position; he believed the source must lie in an abstract principle that is beyond the world of human perception. Plato (428/427–348/347 BCE) argued that different types of entities have different degrees of existence and that shadows and images exist in a weaker sense than regular material objects. He said unchangeable Platonic forms have
8256-407: The sentence "politicians exist" states the general term "politician" has instances without referring to a particular politician. Singular and general existence are closely related to each other, and some philosophers have tried to explain one as a special case of the other. For example, according to Frege, general existence is more basic than singular existence. One argument in favor of this position
8352-426: The series "Dinotopia": a portmanteau of "dinosaur" and "utopia". Dinotopia began as an illustrated children's book called Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time . It was a cross-over success, appealing to both children and adult readers, which led James Gurney to write and illustrate three more books called Dinotopia: The World Beneath, Dinotopia: First Flight and Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara . They all deal with
8448-456: The series, and location shooting lasted for three months near Budapest , Hungary. Georgina Rylance played Marion Waldo, and Lisa Zane portrayed her old friend LeSage, the leader of the Outsiders. Michael Brandon , Jonathan Hyde , and Erik von Detten also star in the series. The series ended with a cliffhanger. Artisan Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 for
8544-777: The series. A live-action television miniseries , a short-lived live-action TV series , a 2005 animated film, and several video games have also been released. Gurney's assignments for National Geographic required him to work with archaeologists to envision and paint ancient cities that no one alive today has ever seen. This inspired him to imagine his own, so he painted "Waterfall City" and "Dinosaur parade". These were originally done as art prints for collectors. He later decided to create an imaginary island based on these paintings. Rather than digital tools, Gurney used " plein-air studies, thumbnail sketches, models photographed in costume and original cardboard or clay maquettes " to create 150 oil paintings for his 2007 Dinotopia book. He called
8640-478: The spatial and temporal location of the speaker. The problem of contingent and necessary existence is closely related to the ontological question of why there is anything at all or why is there something rather than nothing . According to one view, the existence of something is a contingent fact, meaning the world could have been totally empty. This is not possible if there are necessary entities, which could not have failed to exist. In this case, global nothingness
8736-502: The state of being real and to exist as having being or participating in reality . Existence sets real entities apart from imaginary ones, and can refer both to individual entities or to the totality of reality. The word "existence" entered the English language in the late 14th century from old French and has its roots in the medieval Latin term ex(s)istere , which means "to stand forth", "to appear", and "to arise". Existence
8832-463: The widest domain of quantification includes both existing and nonexisting objects. Some aspects of Meinongianism are controversial and have received substantial criticism. According to one objection, one cannot distinguish between being an object and being an existing object. A closely related criticism states objects cannot have properties if they do not exist. A further objection is that Meinongianism leads to an "overpopulated universe" because there
8928-452: Was also based on James Gurney's work, and was advertised as the first "mega-series" (3-night series). The show featured new characters such as Zippo (changed to Zippeau for the TV series to avoid legal issues with the lighter maker Zippo ), a Stenonychosaurus who is said to have worked with Sylvia; the sunstones, a technology restricted to the lost city of Poseidos in the books, are commonplace in
9024-491: Was also the first and only acting role of hip-hop artist Rollin Woodford (Ro Morikawa). Many have claimed that some scenes in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (particularly those in the city of Theed on Naboo ) unfairly copy images from Gurney's books. Gurney acknowledges the resemblance but has remained positive about it. In 1994, director George Lucas had met with producers to discuss some of
9120-502: Was inducted as a Living Master by the Art Renewal Center . The dinosaur Torvosaurus gurneyi was named in honor of Gurney in 2014. Existence Existence is the state of having being or reality in contrast to nonexistence and nonbeing . Existence is often contrasted with essence : the essence of an entity is its essential features or qualities, which can be understood even if one does not know whether
9216-547: Was that of an Allosaurus at a museum. His fascination with dinosaurs led to an interest in archaeology. As a youth, he dug up his home's back yard looking for arrowheads or lost temples. He studied anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley , receiving a bachelor of arts degree with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1979. He then studied illustration at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California , for
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