What is reality? Is it something we perceive every morning when we wake up, when we go outside and interact with other humans? Or is it something that exist only in the mind of an observer? Studying philosophy for almost three years now, I've explored so many philosophical theories and could never classify myself into any of them until last year's summer semester. When I first got into modern philosophy class I was absolutely amazed by this brilliant woman who taught the subject. It was Thursday from 8 a.m. till 1 p.m. and it seemed like much, but I could listen to her for hours and hours without the need to go outside for a minute to smoke a cigarette and have a cup of coffee. I've read some of the works from modern philosophers before like Descartes, Locke, Hume, and knew a few others, but discovering George Berkeley and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was absolutely one of the best things that ever happened to me. In my ''dark days'' when I couldn't cope with the outside world, I would just imagine that everything outside me is a product of my own mind and that I'm always in control of everything around me. I always felt like proportions of reality are too limiting for me and my desires. I never had that complete sense of belonging. In high school I read this amazing Picasso's quote: Anything you can imagine is real. Than, that seemed amazing but completely unreal for me because I interpreted it in a way that, if I now imagine a unicorn by my side it will magically appear. Now, after few years, I finally get what Picasso meant when he said it. I became a solipsist. If you don't already know what solipsism is, let me shortly elaborate. Many people who don't know this position would probably call me insane, but I firmly stand behind the epistemological position of solipsism which advocates that knowledge of anything outside one's mind is unsure. In a metaphysical position, solipsism goes further to the conclusion that the world and other minds do not exist, but that is for my point of view a bit too controversial. Look outside your window. What do you see? Is it another house just like yours, a tree or maybe a dog? How do they look like? Do you like what you see? Is it something taken for granted or is it something that appears in your mind based on your subjective experience? Do you really, firmly believe that the dog you see is really black or is it maybe pink? Believes about the outside world are based upon our perception and cognitive functions which are the same in every human being on earth (excluding mentally ill and people with mind disabilities). As a specie, we agree upon basic things like the sky is blue and the grass is green, only because our cognitive functions are constructedin a way that when we perceive an object in the outside world it appears in our mind exactly the same as he is outside our mind. Or is it? I used to take everything I see for grated, that what I see is exactly like I see it (of perceive it), but now I know things aren't always like they appear to be. Solipsism is a bit radical position for most people, but think about this. Everything we see is a subjectively perceived, some objects we like, some don't. We take for granted that a red apple is really a red apple, but the truth is, that apple is red only in mind of every other human being on this earth (because of our cognitive functions), but if you could step outside of your mind as an impartial observer, without limitations of our functions, would that apple really be red or maybe black? When I write my posts I often stop and read everything from the beginning to see how well I constructed it, and reading this makes me realize that for people who don't study philosophy, I sound pretty crazy.. But just think about the fact that we'll never be able to step outside our own minds to see things as the are independent from the constructions of our mind. Think about the fact that everything you perceive is explicitly your subjective impression of things and that when things exist in your mind, they are dependent of the same mind constructions.. That is why we don't like some things other people like. That's why 500 people experience the same party in a different way. That's why every one of us is a construct of their own mind, every one unique and different from another.. I'm not saying that houses and trees aren't real, just that we'll never be able to tell that they truly are, or what they would look like if we step outside our own mind and impartially observe. We are the creators. What is your reality? S.
