Other people exist. This is not only a factual statement, but it is also a phrase by which you can and (I dare say) should live your life. At the simplest level, the phrase acknowledges that each individual person at some point or another will have to interact and live with other people. How you interact with them (or not) is entirely up to you. Pretending they don’t exist doesn’t make them go away. The idea could be expanded to include other animals, other species, or other sentient beings exist, but we can include those once everyone has embraced that other people exist and world peace is finally achieved. One extremely unlikely step at a time.
The world cannot agree on whether to “religion or not to religion” (trademark), but we can all agree that we all exist. You have to be a complete “reality denier” (trademark) to disagree that other people exist. There are people in the world who don’t believe in the existence of other people or, at least, they say they do not believe in the existence of other people, but other people still exist. Those people have stopped reading these words long ago. Reality denial is not just a river in Egypt, it is a river in Egypt that people don’t acknowledge.
Recognizing that other people exist is a logical statement. With the population being what it is, it is a statistically logical statement that all humans will have to deal with at least a portion of other humans throughout their lives. The more we accept that fact, the more connected we can be with one another. As soon as we say we will only recognize those humans who agree with us, who live close to us, or who drink the same soft drinks we do, we cease to live cohesive lives. Other people don’t exist because we want them to exist or believe they exist. They just exist.
Coming together as a world community will not be easy, but it is necessary to avoid conflict with that same community. Compromises among all communities must be made. A person can live without acknowledging that other people exist, but he or she will have conflicts with other people throughout his or her life. If two people want to sit in a one-person chair only one can sit with his or her butt touching the seat at once. The two people can fight to sit in the chair first or they can compromise and share the chair at different times. Compromise is the key to both living together in a one chair world.
Acknowledging the existence of everyone else can seem to be an unattainable task and/or goal. Actually, it is. You are most likely only going to encounter a small percentage of the Earth’s population. Recognizing that other people exist merely says that, of the people you meet, you recognize their existence and adjust your life accordingly. You only need to acknowledge those people with which you come into contact. If you can talk to them, see them, hear them, or interact with other people, you merely need to recognize them as people. If you yourself are worthy of being acknowledged as a person so is everyone else. Acknowledge others as you want to be acknowledged.