Yes, this is definitely a confused question. “Correspondence” is complicated.
People shouldn’t use “exists” to mean “corresponds to some pattern of matter and energy” (so apparently I’m a Platonist); yet they also shouldn’t ignore the ontological distinction between numbers and atoms (so I guess I’m also kind of a nominalist).
Yes, this is definitely a confused question. “Correspondence” is complicated.
People shouldn’t use “exists” to mean “corresponds to some pattern of matter and energy” (so apparently I’m a Platonist); yet they also shouldn’t ignore the ontological distinction between numbers and atoms (so I guess I’m also kind of a nominalist).
Life is so much easier for an instrumentalist, for whom “exist” is quite clearly defined.