Podcast #16: The True Nature of Reality

[seeker5]

I searched the forum for the forum link to this podcast, but I didn't find one. So I started the thread.

I decided to not post anything about Subjective Reality until I had listened to this hour long podcast. Now that I have, I'm a little bit puzzled.

Steve seems to say two contradictory things. One that I don't exist (when he's talking about his reference point). And two that he doesn't exist (when he is talking about my reference point). How can it be both?

I know I exist. I can't prove Steve exist independentely, that is true. But Steve believes he exists independently of me. Yet he is trying to prove to me he doesn't exist when I'm not thinking of him. Thus there's a slight conflict there. No?

Is there a good FAQ answering these questions I'm sure many people are asking?

[Calculusaurus]

The contradiction you mentioned only arises in an objective viewpoint. Yeah, it's a little weird, but objectivity is so ingrained in our thought processes that it's sometimes hard to "get" SR.

The point Steve was making was that subjectively, the only provable observations are the ones that "I" experience. I know that I exist, and I'm aware of my subjective perceptions. But to say that you also exist in the same way I do would be an assumption.

So to the point:

I know I exist. I can't prove Steve exist independentely, that is true.

-- right.

But Steve believes he exists independently of me.

-- saying that Steve exists independantly of you is an objective assumption.

Subjective reality avoids those assumptions (i.e. that there is an "out there"). It goes straght to the basics (i.e. subjective perceptions are the only provable aspects of reality), and from there it builds up a model of reality that is quite different than the Objective Reality.

In the end, if SR doesn't really resonate with you, then I wouldn't worry about it too much. I think it's a useful perspective to use interchangably with O.R. -- "the common trait of any genius is the ability to hold paradoxes side-by-side in their thoughts" -- but it's mostly a philisophical thing.

SR might raise more questions than answers, but if you are stingent enough with analyzing OR, you might realize that that too has more questions than answers. Point: reality is weird O_o.