what if we all only exist to ourself

**Erii** · 03-02-2011 04:37 AM

what if, we all have our own independent reality, everyone in "the world" (whatever that may be) is all figmants of our own imagination?
every person born in a universal reality ( don't know how someone would be born if none of us exist? that is aside the point) is in a comotose (or a dream like state-if you will) state right now and is living a life in our own mind...it is sorta hard to grasp if you really think about it.
I take life too serious sometimes, and thoughts like this get me thinking-why take life too serious if we are all going to die anyways (pretty cynical)...
you don't really exist because there is no proof you are just in my mind because anything you say to back that up would also just be in my mind xD think about it

**no-Name** · 03-02-2011 05:08 AM

Originally Posted by erible

you don't really exist because there is no proof you are just in my mind because anything you say to back that up would also just be in my mind xD think about it

there's nothing to think about. it's a shallow thought that requires no explanation and no proof to back it up. as a philosophy, it's lazy and trite.

or

so what if it's true? then it's true. will you live as if it is? does it bring betterment to others? obviously not, as they don't exist.

bothers me

**LikesToTrip** · 03-02-2011 05:12 AM

I've thought this before. I assume it is a pretty common idea. It's extremely far fetched though, and there is absolutely no reason why we should give it any credibility.

"Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive." - Elbert Hubbard

**Entaria** · 03-02-2011 05:55 AM

I think about this all the time. What if this whole thing is just one great big elaborate dream, and one day I'm going to wake up and go "wow, what the hell was that?".

There was an interesting story I read a few weeks ago that made me really think about things, if I could link to it I would, but it won't allow me because I'm too new (it's called The Egg by Andy Weir): the basic premise was that reincarnation is real, but it isn't linear. You could die in this life, and be reincarnated into a person from far in the past, or in the future, and that because of this, every single person in the world that ever existed and ever will exist is actually the same person. I highly recommend reading it, it's very thought provoking.

**Laughing Man** · 03-02-2011 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by erible

what if, we all have our own independent reality, everyone in "the world" (whatever that may be) is all figmants of our own imagination?
every person born in a universal reality ( don't know how someone would be born if none of us exist? that is aside the point) is in a comotose (or a dream like state-if you will) state right now and is living a life in our own mind...it is sorta hard to grasp if you really think about it.
I take life too serious sometimes, and thoughts like this get me thinking-why take life too serious if we are all going to die anyways (pretty cynical)...
you don't really exist because there is no proof you are just in my mind because anything you say to back that up would also just be in my mind xD think about it

Not really a hard concept to grasp because like someone else said before me, it's completely shallow. I sometimes wish this postmodernist mantra would die out. It's such a nuisance talking to people who think they are dreaming or that the world doesn't exist. I can suggest some methods on realizing whether or not the outside world is real but they all involve pain and I will probably get censored if I suggested them.

**tommo** · 03-02-2011 12:15 PM

Is one of them killing yourself? lol Just wondering.

I find it much more interesting to contemplate how the fuck this all got here.
I mean, even if we are in a computer or dream state, what the fuck kind of fucked up shit is out there ?

**Arra** · 03-06-2011 12:01 AM

I've noticed there are people who will come up with some random 'neat idea' and think themselves philosophical geniuses. My brother is one, I was one when I was 12 (I remember coming up with a 'theory' that I was so damn proud of). Study real philosophy even a bit and you'll realize these ideas aren't difficult to come by, and I don't see how anyone would find them hard to grasp.

What if everyone exists in your mind (this idea is called solipsism, by the way)? What if we're all in a matrix? What if all of our consciousnesses are the same one in different bodies? Reincarnation? What if my 'up' is your 'down'? What if we all see colors differently? What if the dream world is a real world our spirits visit? What if we all have two souls and our struggles are a result of them constantly fighting? Maybe the essence of the world is love, or emotion, or maybe we all have animal spirits, or maybe every time we make a choice, multiple universes are created in which we've made every possible choice. Maybe magic is only impossible because we believe it is, maybe the essence of the universe is gender.

These possibilities aren't hard to come up with. What distinguishes a good philosophical idea from a bad one is that a good one has a logical basis, or evidence. If something is merely possible, unless the alternatives are almost as unlikely, it shouldn't be given much credit. If it entertains you to think about the possibility, then there's nothing wrong with thinking about it. Just don't decide that something is likely to be true because you realize it's technically possible.

**tommo** · 03-06-2011 02:50 AM

For example, "What if all of our consciousnesses are the same one in different bodies?"
This is somewhat true because the same mechanism for consciousness exists in all of our brains.
It's just moulded by our experiences to make us seem different.
This is a good philosophical idea because it leads in all different directions and you can find evidence for
it (while you are able to tell other people/before you die).

**Arra** · 03-06-2011 03:01 AM

Originally Posted by tommo

For example, "What if all of our consciousnesses are the same one in different bodies?"
This is somewhat true because the same mechanism for consciousness exists in all of our brains.
It's just moulded by our experiences to make us seem different.
This is a good philosophical idea because it leads in all different directions and you can find evidence for
it (while you are able to tell other people/before you die).

I pretty much agree. Consciousness is consciousness. It's impossible to even conceive of some different type of consciousness, only of different brain states and mental makeups the consciousness might have.

**Epic Altruist** · 03-08-2011 06:52 PM

I know Dianeva already mentioned this name,but you may want to read this, OP.

Wikipedia - Solipsism

**Dthoughts** · 03-08-2011 08:20 PM

We all exist only to ourselves.. Everything that happens in the universe that passes you by doesnt exist to you.
The trick is to connect with others and open doors for possibilities.

**Laughing Man** · 03-09-2011 10:34 PM

Originally Posted by Dianeva

I've noticed there are people who will come up with some random 'neat idea' and think themselves philosophical geniuses. My brother is one, I was one when I was 12 (I remember coming up with a 'theory' that I was so damn proud of). Study real philosophy even a bit and you'll realize these ideas aren't difficult to come by, and I don't see how anyone would find them hard to grasp.

What if everyone exists in your mind (this idea is called solipsism, by the way)? What if we're all in a matrix? What if all of our consciousnesses are the same one in different bodies? Reincarnation? What if my 'up' is your 'down'? What if we all see colors differently? What if the dream world is a real world our spirits visit? What if we all have two souls and our struggles are a result of them constantly fighting? Maybe the essence of the world is love, or emotion, or maybe we all have animal spirits, or maybe every time we make a choice, multiple universes are created in which we've made every possible choice. Maybe magic is only impossible because we believe it is, maybe the essence of the universe is gender.

These possibilities aren't hard to come up with. What distinguishes a good philosophical idea from a bad one is that a good one has a logical basis, or evidence. If something is merely possible, unless the alternatives are almost as unlikely, it shouldn't be given much credit. If it entertains you to think about the possibility, then there's nothing wrong with thinking about it. Just don't decide that something is likely to be true because you realize it's technically possible.

Finally, a voice of reason in the haze of lunacy.

**Osmodin** · 05-07-2011 05:52 PM

My thought about this is. Why would I be the only real person in my reality? If I can be real why cant other people? I believe we all have a different percetion of reality becasue all our brains react differently, but we all still inhabit the same world. So in a sense I think everyone has thire own independant reality do to perception and that no one really sees it 100% true. I also beleave that we preceive each other to but not each others percetions. We precieve motives, reasons and causes.