Theory What Is Reality?

[The Stranger 812]

(Note: I used the search tool here on the MLP Forums but it did not show me any threads that currently exist on this topic. If this thread is a duplicate please forgive me.)

 

Reality is a curious thing. I often question what is real or not or if i'm actually dreaming. I've come up with two theories on what reality is and I wish to share them and get your own views on what reality could be.

 

When it comes to reality I have a strange view on it that I've shared on the forums a while ago.  

 

====

Theory 1:

 

I believe reality is what we make of it. It's based on our thoughts. Each person has their own conscious/reality that overlaps another and puts themselves and others into existence. I exist only because I acknowledge my own existence and because right now you are acknowledging me. 

 

If suddenly I where to stop acknowledging my own existence (which is impossible) and if you and everyone stopped acknowledge me I'd cease to exist. 

 

So basically We exist in each others thoughts so that's what makes us real and puts us into reality. 

 

Theory 2:

 

Also I believe that what we see/observe and how we perceive things makes the physical world around us. If I were to suddenly lose my ability to see and feel the physical world around me would cease to exist because i can't see, observe, perceive it. On top of all that with my senses gone I can't even interact. That's kinda like being unconscious.

 

If a person is cut off from all of his or her senses that to me cuts them off from reality and they no longer exist in their mind even though the physical world continues on around them. 

 

Is an unconscious person still part of reality since they can't interact with anything or anyone around them?    

====

 

To be honest I don't think anyone can put a finger on what reality is. It's one huge mystery. Even so it is fun to make up theories so I'd like to see what you all believe reality is. How would you classify it?

Edited January 16, 2013 by Twisted-Bone

[MelancholicMemory 2,022]

I spent a good 15 minutes typing up a couple-thousand-word detailed response, but then either MLPForums, or my device did something that lost it.   Let's try this again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Is that all we see and seem,

But a dream within a dream?"

-Edgar Allan Poe

 

 

I think these kinds of questions really depend on how one defines existence. If one presumes that something only exists if it is known to have an objective physical form, then one cannot rightfully say anything except yourself exists, as Descartes famously concluded. "I think, therefore I am." Even then, one could not be sure that you as you know you exists, but rather you would know for certain that something somewhere is capable of thought and happens to be thinking what I'm thinking right now.

 

If you use a looser form of existence, in which things do not have to be physical or objective, however, the nature of reality is open to greater possibilities. For example, in addition to my own mind, I can also rightfully conclude that you exist, if only as an idea in my mind. In this way, your first theory is correct. We all are given some certain, knowable form of existence when others think us to be in existence. We think, therefore we are. In fact, if this is true, then one effectively ceases to exist if everyone forgets you. One could never prove this, however, because if one is observing you, then they are automatically recognizing your existence and thinking of you. In a way knowable reality is not a world to be explored as much as a collection of all of our subjective feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and experiences, which all may be false. This world we live in may be an illusion of our own making. Everything else that we think we know, cannot be effectively proven, and thus we can not trust it to be true.

 

This is also true of inanimate objects. If no one believed or ever saw or felt a chair, chairs would effectively not exist, because the idea of chairs wouldn't exist, and the actual object is unverifiable. So, your second theory is true in a way as well. I disagree with your thoughts on unconsciousness, though, but to explain why would delve us very deep ino the subject of consciousness, which is, in itself, a complex, interesting philosophical question.

 

I don't think it matters if an objective physical reality exists, because, regardless, the subjective experiences and feelings are certainly real, and one cannot ever know if the world we live in is a lie. I think it is important to the way we think though, to realize that all we think we know could just be an illusion, and we may just be playing along. The assumption that all of our senses are accurate and the way we perceieve the world underlies everything, and to not make this assumption renders you utterly incapable of anything, and makes life just plain boring.

 

If this world is a dream, then we should make the most out of our illusion. If it is real life, then we must make the most out of our lives. If this is a dream though, then I'm really mad at the dreamer for destroying my original post still

 

Also, as promised, here is a bad pun. We're on MLPForums discussing if we're in the Matrix so it's... the Haytrix!

Edited January 16, 2013 by MelancholicMemory

[Ian 69]

Go watch Donnie Darko.

Donnie Darko is arguably one of the more disturbing and foundation-shaking movies I've ever seen.

And that says alot.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,833]

So I take it our conversation via PM inspired this thread?

 

I'm just going to copy and paste what I said in that conversation:

 

I believe that in reality we all exist no matter what we or others believe. However, what exactly we perceive may be different. I'm thinking that maybe what I consider to be the color red might be different than what you perceive to be red. 

 

I think that reality as a whole exists no matter what but it can take any form depending on who is experiencing it,

[Betez 1,734]

I have always questioned whether or not I'm actually living or I'm just by myself imaging or this, or am in a dream. (It'd be one hell of a dream.) There are tons of scientific definitions of reality, but it still is an interesting concept. MelancholicMemory pretty much summed it all up.

Edited January 16, 2013 by Betez

[Scootalove 10,684]

What I think Reality is

 

In my opinion, reality is something that we base our life on like an author chooses to base his/her life on a book and we try to find the purpose of our life on this planet called Earth. Our reason to answer these unsolved questions, and we keep thinking to ourselves do we lose ourselves in this newfound bottomless abyss called Reality.

[MelancholicMemory 2,022]

I'm thinking that maybe what I consider to be the color red might be different than what you perceive to be red.

 

Well, when you get into that, it's even more complicated. You see, there is no such thing as "red" at all except in our minds. All red is, is the interpretation of our brains of a particular range of frequencies of light, which have no essential "redness" about them. If humans, and animals with color vision didn't exist, red would cease to exist as well. This applies to all colors and some other ideas as well. When you get into numbers, it gets even more complicated, trust me

[RazzyJam 1,519]

I used to think like this and worry about similar such things all the time. I used to worry that this could all be simulated or just a dream and I questioned what was real and what wasn't. Then I realized that it really doesn't matter, because even if this is real or not, we should try to make the best of it. Appreciating the finer things in life is always a better way to live.

[The Stranger 812]

I spent a good 15 minutes typing up a couple-thousand-word detailed response, but then either MLPForums, or my device did something that lost it.   Let's try this again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Is that all we see and seem,

But a dream within a dream?"

-Edgar Allan Poe

 

 

I think these kinds of questions really depend on how one defines existence. If one presumes that something only exists if it is known to have an objective physical form, then one cannot rightfully say anything except yourself exists, as Descartes famously concluded. "I think, therefore I am." Even then, one could not be sure that you as you know you exists, but rather you would know for certain that something somewhere is capable of thought and happens to be thinking what I'm thinking right now.

 

If you use a looser form of existence, in which things do not have to be physical or objective, however, the nature of reality is open to greater possibilities. For example, in addition to my own mind, I can also rightfully conclude that you exist, if only as an idea in my mind. In this way, your first theory is correct. We all are given some certain, knowable form of existence when others think us to be in existence. We think, therefore we are. In fact, if this is true, then one effectively ceases to exist if everyone forgets you. One could never prove this, however, because if one is observing you, then they are automatically recognizing your existence and thinking of you. In a way knowable reality is not a world to be explored as much as a collection of all of our subjective feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and experiences, which all may be false. This world we live in may be an illusion of our own making. Everything else that we think we know, cannot be effectively proven, and thus we can not trust it to be true.

 

This is also true of inanimate objects. If no one believed or ever saw or felt a chair, chairs would effectively not exist, because the idea of chairs wouldn't exist, and the actual object is unverifiable. So, your second theory is true in a way as well. I disagree with your thoughts on unconsciousness, though, but to explain why would delve us very deep ino the subject of consciousness, which is, in itself, a complex, interesting philosophical question.

 

I don't think it matters if an objective physical reality exists, because, regardless, the subjective experiences and feelings are certainly real, and one cannot ever know if the world we live in is a lie. I think it is important to the way we think though, to realize that all we think we know could just be an illusion, and we may just be playing along. The assumption that all of our senses are accurate and the way we perceieve the world underlies everything, and to not make this assumption renders you utterly incapable of anything, and makes life just plain boring.

 

If this world is a dream, then we should make the most out of our illusion. If it is real life, then we must make the most out of our lives. If this is a dream though, then I'm really mad at the dreamer for destroying my original post still

 

Also, as promised, here is a bad pun. We're on MLPForums discussing if we're in the Matrix so it's... the Haytrix!

 

You sir are awesome. I thought I was just insane and nothing more but you seem to support parts of my theories. Not only that, you've  given me information and a view on reality I've never had. I'd give you 100 brohooves If I could. 

[RazzyJam 1,519]

Lol, thinking about how I used to believe that you were all programed or wired to tell me that this is all real so I wouldn't think it is fake. 

[Jessper 735]

Reality is the totality of all things in existence at the current time. Yeah, that doesn't sound that romantic.

Although i'd say that is the only possible answer as to what reality is. 

 

The debatable part is how we perceive and  interpret reality.

On that note I'd say reality is objective, while our perception and interpretation is very subjective. Minds do not affect reality as such, just the interpretation. You will exist and be part of the reality, no matter whether you acknowledge your existence or not, no matter whether you can interact or not.

Yes. That still isn't very romantic.

 

Either way, it looks a bit more like you are thinking about the existence of a mind, rather than reality.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,833]

I spent a good 15 minutes typing up a couple-thousand-word detailed response, but then either MLPForums, or my device did something that lost it.   Let's try this again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Is that all we see and seem,

But a dream within a dream?"

-Edgar Allan Poe

 

 

I think these kinds of questions really depend on how one defines existence. If one presumes that something only exists if it is known to have an objective physical form, then one cannot rightfully say anything except yourself exists, as Descartes famously concluded. "I think, therefore I am." Even then, one could not be sure that you as you know you exists, but rather you would know for certain that something somewhere is capable of thought and happens to be thinking what I'm thinking right now.

 

If you use a looser form of existence, in which things do not have to be physical or objective, however, the nature of reality is open to greater possibilities. For example, in addition to my own mind, I can also rightfully conclude that you exist, if only as an idea in my mind. In this way, your first theory is correct. We all are given some certain, knowable form of existence when others think us to be in existence. We think, therefore we are. In fact, if this is true, then one effectively ceases to exist if everyone forgets you. One could never prove this, however, because if one is observing you, then they are automatically recognizing your existence and thinking of you. In a way knowable reality is not a world to be explored as much as a collection of all of our subjective feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and experiences, which all may be false. This world we live in may be an illusion of our own making. Everything else that we think we know, cannot be effectively proven, and thus we can not trust it to be true.

 

This is also true of inanimate objects. If no one believed or ever saw or felt a chair, chairs would effectively not exist, because the idea of chairs wouldn't exist, and the actual object is unverifiable. So, your second theory is true in a way as well. I disagree with your thoughts on unconsciousness, though, but to explain why would delve us very deep ino the subject of consciousness, which is, in itself, a complex, interesting philosophical question.

 

I don't think it matters if an objective physical reality exists, because, regardless, the subjective experiences and feelings are certainly real, and one cannot ever know if the world we live in is a lie. I think it is important to the way we think though, to realize that all we think we know could just be an illusion, and we may just be playing along. The assumption that all of our senses are accurate and the way we perceieve the world underlies everything, and to not make this assumption renders you utterly incapable of anything, and makes life just plain boring.

 

If this world is a dream, then we should make the most out of our illusion. If it is real life, then we must make the most out of our lives. If this is a dream though, then I'm really mad at the dreamer for destroying my original post still

 

Also, as promised, here is a bad pun. We're on MLPForums discussing if we're in the Matrix so it's... the Haytrix!

You can't be cut off from all your senses. You have over thirty of them and some of them aren't linked to specific organs other than the brain itself. So without being dead there are certain senses you cannot lose, such as proprioception, your knowledge of the location of your body in relation to itself. It's why you can close your eyes and still put your finger on your nose.

 

And the sense that tells you when you're hungry or thirty isn't related to any other senses.

[MelancholicMemory 2,022]

You can't be cut off from all your senses. You have over thirty of them and some of them aren't linked to specific organs other than the brain itself. So without being dead there are certain senses you cannot lose, such as proprioception, your knowledge of the location of your body in relation to itself. It's why you can close your eyes and still put your finger on your nose.

 

And the sense that tells you when you're hungry or thirty isn't related to any other senses.

Actually, you can. A good example is how, if you sever a certain nerve in the body, you can eliminate the sense of hunger. If you cut a different nerve instead, you can eliminate the sensation of being full, which would cause a person or animal to eat itself into obesity and, eventually, death. I learned about it in my psych class last semester. The teacher actually showed me pictures of two rats which had these procedures performed one month before the photo, and they were gruesome. One ate itself to death and the other starved.

 

Also, would you please refer to the specific part of my post which you are responding to next time. I couldn't find where I talked about senses in such a large post. Anyway, I was mostly addressing whether one can trust their senses at all, which is the primary question when addressing whether the perceived world is real or not.

[AnonBrony 1,467]

Ah the Reality thing. Oh i can go on for HOURS on this. And half of that would just be asking for questions heheh. But i really don't feel like rambling on at the momment since its late where i am. The deal with reality can get really crazy and so conflicting. SO many questions yet so little answers. Its very fascininting. Objective reality and subjective. Its almost impossible to prove what reality is. And any theory you come up with just leads to more questions. And most of the time those questios have questions of there own and somewhere in the middle you create a couple of paradoxes. Its bloody amazing. I have come up with some ideas of my own though. Some just absurd. But ironically... the absurd ones seem to make more sense. But like i said its late and i don't feel like rambling and typing like 8000 chracters so I'll just leave it here and have you people discuss it.

[Otter 1,942]

You wanna know what reality truly is? HEUGH

 

But seriously, if you read some studies in psychology, they show that most of the input we recieve (sight, touch, hearing, etc.) are only very basic inputs. It's up to our brain to interpret these signals and form our perception of reality. 

[RazzyJam 1,519]

Technically speaking, one can only ever be certain that RIGHT NOW is real. But that is really it. The future is uncertain, and the past could all be fake. The only thing you can know is real with 100% certainty is that right now is real. Of course right now is now then, so it really means now, but now you just missed now, so you really have to wait until later for it to be now, like right now! 

[Doctor-Whooves 288]

I feel that reality is, forgive the pun, relative. For example, Minecraft is such a popular game because the player creates their own reality and dimensions.

[Syrchalis 40]

I never really try to think about what reality is - as I mostly try to avoid it. I do prefer other worlds over our world, so my reality is running away from it towards better worlds, like Equestria or from other TV shows. Or from a book? It doesn't matter, most worlds are more interesting and better than ours.

 

That's also why I love roleplaying so much. I can be a pony in Equestria and don't have to deal with reality.

[Just A Guy 39]

I do have 1 theory about reality...
Everyday I'm not doing anything, or just distracted watching something that's not there, all these thoughts come to me...
My theory is that maybe, just maybe, we all see reality in a different way, but we call the objects, colors, etc, The same way...
That thought pursues me everyday...
Other times, I believe that this is all an illusion, we are all asleep, we are in a material world controlled by materialism and emotions...
Just like when we are "actually asleep" and we start dreaming, we feel like it's all real...
How are you sure we are just not dreaming?
(If you wonder, no, I have not seen Inception...)

[Dark Fox 151]

Go watch Donnie Darko.

 

Donnie Darko is arguably one of the more disturbing and foundation-shaking movies I've ever seen.

 

And that says alot.

 

Really? To me the movie seemed to be about free-will and determinism rather than the nature of reality, oh and the trippy part with the timey worm hole.

[Magica 8]

I believe that reality is either:

 

a] An external reality which exists, which we (incorrectly) perceive through our senses. For examples, the particles of light may exist, but colour does not, colour is the result of us perceiving the light bouncing off an object. Objects are not 'inherently' red, but we can perceive them as such. (Of course, if particles do not exist and are a result of our failed perception as well then this example fails.)

 

b] Something which doesn't 'exist' (physically?) except for in our heads, it's all a simulation/illusion/dream/whatever.

Edited January 16, 2013 by SunshineCat

[~Master~ Button Mash 2,307]

Reality is what we perceive - be it physically through our senses, or the mindsets we hold. Reality is the sum total of our senses (because the base reality we perceive is simply a reconstructed matrix created from raw data input into our brain), our brain's physical interpretations of them, as well as our mental, emotional, and spiritual interpretations of this reality. As such, reality is multi-tiered, with both absolute and relative elements.

 

If I wanted to, I could go on about this for hours. Unfortunately, I'm too tired, so I'll keep it concise.

Edited January 16, 2013 by StratoPegasus

[Ian 69]

Really? To me the movie seemed to be about free-will and determinism rather than the nature of reality, oh and the trippy part with the timey worm hole.

The movie touches much deeper.  It's the only movie I've seen to throw parallel dimensions with time loops.  When you look into the depth of it, it's quite disturbing.

[RazzyJam 1,519]

The only thing that you can be 100% certain is real is right now...

Here is a short clip from space balls that sums up my thoughts pretty well. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzO4BSTnkgg

[Leatherbehlt 465]

Something which doesn't 'exist' (physically?) except for in our heads, it's all a simulation/illusion/dream

I'm just gonna take the lazy route out of this and say you're completely right. In all the time I've spent thinking about this kinda stuff, that's basically my conclusion.