Objective reality: How do we know it exists ?

Discussion in 'General Philosophy' started by Enmos, Mar 21, 2008.

  1. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    Reality and all the objects in it exists completely independent of the mind.
    I call this objective reality.
    No observer can perceive objective reality directly. Perception is necessarily colored by interpretation, expectation, etc.
    We make up our own version of reality in our mind which is based on (part) of objective reality, let's refer to it as subjective reality.

    Some people here have argued that it is impossible to know whether objective reality exists because of it's own premises. I disagree.
    We know the senses aren't perfect. For instance, the eye can only sense a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
    We also know that some animals can perceive more of the spectrum than we can.
    The same goes for all the other senses: smell, hearing, touch and taste.
    So we know, as an objective fact, that the senses can only sense a specific portion of objective reality.

    When our brain is fed this data it interprets it based on:
    - memory of previous experiences;
    - character, which is the product of in part genetic but mostly environmental circumstances in our childhood;
    - knowledge/believes;
    - immediate environmental demands.
    Then value is assigned to anything that is perceived according to above circumstances.
    And so we end up with our own version of reality; subjective reality.

    This is my view and I am convinced of it's correctness, but feel free to add or criticize.

    Discuss

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  3. Pandaemoni Valued Senior Member

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  5. greenberg until the end of the world Registered Senior Member

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    I have two questions:

    1. What is the relevance of distinguishing between objective reality and subjective reality?

    2. How can a person distinguish between objective reality and subjective reality; how does a person know which is which?
     
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  7. Yorda Registered Senior Member

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    if we would see and experience everything, we would see nothing and experience nothing. reality is like light. it's just... light, but if you separate it, it becomes something/colors. nothing(ness) is objective.
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2008
  8. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    I don't know, but this question really isn't very relevant to the thread

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    A person can't. We cannot directly perceive objective reality.
     
  9. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    I'm not sure what you mean here.
     
  10. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    We can assume it exists, but we don't know for sure.
     
  11. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    What is the alternative ? Where do the senses get their input from ?
     
  12. shichimenshyo Caught in the machine Registered Senior Member

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  13. Yorda Registered Senior Member

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    just like IN YOUR DREAMS: everything is inside the mind. everything that exists is thoughts, and we get our input from thoughts.

    since the outside is inside our mind, there can't be a real inside either. nothing exists, that's why every possibility (everything) can exist.
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2008
  14. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    I agree, an alternative would be hard to imagine. Maybe we are in a matrix.
     
  15. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    Oh right, I forgot..
     
  16. greenberg until the end of the world Registered Senior Member

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    Given the title of your thread:

    "Objective reality: How do we know it exists ?"

    I expect that questions like mine will be relevant.
    Otherwise, what is the point in talking about "objective reality"?
     
  17. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    I'm sorry.
    I took your first question as criticism of the thread rather than criticism of my view.
     
  18. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    I don't think anyone can come up with a viable alternative actually.. all views ultimately need an 'outside'.
     
  19. greenberg until the end of the world Registered Senior Member

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    I refuse to settle. I demand to be creative!

    Come on everybody, think of a view of the world that doesn't rest on the inside/outside dichotomy!

    Eat some carrots for better vision, some banans for faster thought, and wash it down with some OJ to get those vitamins rocking!:yay:
     
  20. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    OJ ? lol

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    Edit: oh right duh
     
  21. greenberg until the end of the world Registered Senior Member

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    Orange juice.

    Seriously.
    We can usually think of the opposite of everything, right? We say the opposite of white is black, of up is down, of sea is land, and then there's apples and oranges.

    So we should be able to think of a worldview that is some sort of opposition to the inside/outside dichotomy.
     
  22. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    But the question is, is that view a logical one.. take Yorda's view for example..
     
  23. greenberg until the end of the world Registered Senior Member

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    I might be logical. But the premises used would likely not be what we would normally consider popular or common observations of the world.


    Yorda's views are often logical; but there are sometimes plays of words in Yorda's statements that seem to confuse things.
     

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