 To achieve these goals, Carnap begins by noting that before one can ask existence questions about entities of a determinate kind, one first has to have a language, or a linguistic framework, that allows one to speak about the kinds of entity in question. He then distinguishes ‘internal’ existence questions expressed within such a linguistic framework from ‘external’ existence questions about a framework. Only the latter ask whether the entities of that framework are objectively real. As we’ll see below, Carnap thought that internal existence questions within a framework can be answered, either by empirical investigation or by logical analysis, depending on the kind of entity the framework is about. By contrast, Carnap regards external questions (e.g., ‘Do \(X\text{s}\) exist?’, expressed either about, or independent of, a linguistic framework) as pseudo-questions: though they appear to be theoretical questions, in fact they are merely practical questions about the utility of the linguistic framework for science.