Subject to Authority
We are all subjective. There is a reality that each of us perceives, and it is never the same as anyone else's. When we compare notes, and they seem to say the same thing, it is never the same, but we believe it is.
The colour I call red is certainly not what anyone else sees when they see red. But we can agree that an object is red because someone taught me that an object with certain properties is red and someone else taught the other person something similar. The same property gives rise to two different perceptions of reality, but because they derive from the same property, we say A is the image of B and C is also the image of B, so A and C are evidence that B is the same thing.
This is the fragile underlying structure that gives our reality authority over us. It is mutual agreement from different subjective perceptions of something we fervently hope is an object; that is, something outside us. If everything were inside us, it would be a terrible joke.
The standard defence against such solipsism is to wonder how on earth a solipsist could possess a contrary opinion, or even have the self-knowledge to wonder about solipsism. But there is no way out of the hall of mirrors.
You see, what makes you think about such things? How would you know it is not you? If you can answer that question, then you admit there is something outside your perception. And if you can admit that, then you open the door to authority that is not you.
Is it hard to accept that reality might not depend on you? Some say that this leads to religion. I disagree. I have no problem accepting that reality might not depend on me, not because of religion, but because it is a possibility.
It is also a possibility that I am all there is, and my humility is merely ignorance of that. That too I have no problem accepting, along with the possibility that having no problems accepting such things is also an artifact of whatever it is that I am.
It makes me happy to think otherwise. And in the end, the faith-based arguments must win, because everything is a matter of faith. It is all a question of whether you choose to cut the never-ending navel-gazing short, or not.
All of us really have a choice of one infinite loop or one still small voice. Odd then, that I should go against my experience and preference, and stick with the latter for once.
The colour I call red is certainly not what anyone else sees when they see red. But we can agree that an object is red because someone taught me that an object with certain properties is red and someone else taught the other person something similar. The same property gives rise to two different perceptions of reality, but because they derive from the same property, we say A is the image of B and C is also the image of B, so A and C are evidence that B is the same thing.
This is the fragile underlying structure that gives our reality authority over us. It is mutual agreement from different subjective perceptions of something we fervently hope is an object; that is, something outside us. If everything were inside us, it would be a terrible joke.
The standard defence against such solipsism is to wonder how on earth a solipsist could possess a contrary opinion, or even have the self-knowledge to wonder about solipsism. But there is no way out of the hall of mirrors.
You see, what makes you think about such things? How would you know it is not you? If you can answer that question, then you admit there is something outside your perception. And if you can admit that, then you open the door to authority that is not you.
Is it hard to accept that reality might not depend on you? Some say that this leads to religion. I disagree. I have no problem accepting that reality might not depend on me, not because of religion, but because it is a possibility.
It is also a possibility that I am all there is, and my humility is merely ignorance of that. That too I have no problem accepting, along with the possibility that having no problems accepting such things is also an artifact of whatever it is that I am.
It makes me happy to think otherwise. And in the end, the faith-based arguments must win, because everything is a matter of faith. It is all a question of whether you choose to cut the never-ending navel-gazing short, or not.
All of us really have a choice of one infinite loop or one still small voice. Odd then, that I should go against my experience and preference, and stick with the latter for once.
Labels: Odd Thoughts, Philosophy, Random
etched with acid at 1:14:00 am
2 Comments:
Does having a respectable collection of solid lipsticks qualify me to be a solipsis thingy?
Yu-Ming: only if you think you are talking to yourself when you ask that question... :)
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