An Existential Relationship

An associate with another company came in today at work and asked about a former employee who worked evenings and weekends. He asked what had happened to my former coworker as he had not seen that person in quite a while. In truth, my coworker was fired (whether he quit or was terminated is a minor technicality, he was literally pushed out due to insubordination). I stated that he was no longer with us, though I suspected he was working somewhere else and had moved on. Honestly, I'm glad my former coworker is gone. Though he was sometimes good at looking after stuff, he was primarily lazy and didn't pay attention to procedure. Mostly he was just a deceitful slob who liked to run his mouth. He took no pride in his work nor himself.

But he had dreams

Or at least he spoke of them. He wanted to go back to school (he did attend for a little while in the past, but he took the free grant money the government gave him and used it to party each weekend until it ran out). He was once declined service at McDonald's on his credit card. It's a shame because those grants are given in hopes of people succeeding at life, but nothing became of it. He substituted a little and bragged on how he made $14 per hour doing that. He lives at home with his mother, debt collection agencies harassing him, and is somehow a step above others in his neighborhood.

Alas, this person doesn't roam in any circle I've ever known or related to. He comes from a low economic, trashy town. He's a step above crackhead, but on par with welfare-huggers and unemployment junkies. So in many cases, since I never see him and honestly doubt I ever will again, he is non-existent.

Is our existence reliant solely upon the perception of others?

If people do not think of you, see or hear from you, or generally know of you -- do you exist? Surely we exist as physical manifestations on this earth, but there is perception and virtuosity. I know my brother exists since I see his physical body nearly every day and speak with him regularly. Thus, I know he is both exists and is real.

On the other hand, my former coworker is out of my life. I'll never see him again and will most likely forget him over the years. To this extent, I know he has existed. I worked with him, watched him set up buffet on the counter, and listened to his cell phone babbling. However, for all theoretical purposes, he could be dead and I wouldn't even know it. So does he exist? Probably in a physical sense, but primarily, to me, in my psyche -- even though my perception of him is malignant, it still exists. It may sound cold, but 'tis true for all the same reasons you, the reader, have no idea whether or not I exist. You simply know someone wrote this, but who? Obviously a person, but could you ever say this substantiates my existence?