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Noneism, also known as modal Meinongianism (named after Alexius Meinong), is both a philosophical and theological theory. In a philosophical and metaphysical context, the theory suggests that some things do not exist. that definition was first conceptualized by Richard Sylvan in 1980 and then later expanded on by Graham Priest in 2005. In a theological context, noneism is the practice of spirituality without an affiliation to organized religion.

Philosophical context

Noneism, in this context, holds that some things do not exist or have no being. There are a few controversial entities in philosophy that, according to noneism philosophy, do not exist: past and future entities, which entails any entity that no longer exists or will exist in the future; people or living things that are deceased; unactualized possibila, which are objects that have the potential to exist but do not yet exist; universals, being characteristics shared by a multiplicity of entities; numbers and numerical entities; classes, meaning groups of entities that share common characteristics; and Meinongian entities, which include incomplete or inconsistent objects. These entities are considered controversial because philosophers debate their existence, and they are often central to philosophical theorization. Noneism, as defined by Priest and Sylvan, is the idea brought forth by Meinong that there are existent objects, subsistent objects (physically nonexistent) and absistent objects (nonexistent things that lack form or shape), but the theory denies that subsistent and absistent objects exist.

In opposition to noneism, allism claims that all of the controversial philosophical entities do exist. Although noneism was derived from Quinean philosophy, there are specific aspects of that theory in which noneism rejects from here as well. Willard Van Olman Quine said that “to be is to be the value of a variable,” which says that the state of something existing lies in quantification. Quinean philosophy says that there is a direct relationship between quantification and existence, which noneism partially rejects. Essentially, noneism holds that objects can only exist if they are not absistent, and therefore some things do not exist.

Along with the theory of noneism comes critiques on its validity. Noneism denies the existence of objects that are not real but are quantifiable and are easily talked about as real entities, like fictional characters and mythological beings. Also, there are critiques that say noneists focus heavily on the literality of objects rather than what is implied or interpreted, which creates disagreements about an existence theory. Frederick Kroon, a philosopher at the University of Auckland, mentions that Gandalf, a fictional character from The Wizard of Oz, is honored for his positive character traits, but that noneists would say that these claims of honor are false, because Gandalf is a nonexistent entity.

To add, while Priest also espouses dialetheism, he maintains that his dialetheism is mostly capable of being separated from his noneism. The connection between noneism and dialetheism is that impossible objects may exist in impossible worlds, much as nonexistent objects may exist in possible, but not actual, worlds.

Noneism started to gain traction when Richard Sylvan's book, Exploring Meinong's Jungle and Beyond: An Investigation of Noneism and the Theory of Items, was published in 1980, and the theory was further added to in Graham Priest's book entitled Towards Non-Being: The Logic and Metaphysics of Intentionality, which was published in 2005 (second revised edition in 2016).

Theological context

In theological practice, noneism is a religious movement practiced by people who define themselves as either spiritual, atheistic, or agnostic, but are not affiliated with an organized religion. Because spiritual devotion is increasingly separating itself from organized religion, more people are starting to define themselves as not being affiliated with religion in its entirety. Those that define themselves as ‘nones’, or people that practice noneism, are most prominent in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, but the movement appears elsewhere in the United States as a whole.

There is a lack of homogeneity with this group, since people who practice noneism can come from diverse religious backgrounds. Seventy percent of these ‘nones’ were raised in a religious household, and many continue to practice their spiritual beliefs. Many immigrants to the United States typically leave their religious affiliations behind but still may practice religious rites or maintain their beliefs in their faith. Noneism is spread by the lack of a dominant religious institution and generally weaker religious fervor, as demonstrated by the Pacific Northwest’s societal landscape.