Discussion Is it my illusion that is true?

[L'absent]

In the end, there is no certainty that what we see, touch, and perceive is the actual reality. Everything we experience passes through our nervous system, which transmits signals to the brain, which then interprets them. But are we sure that what the brain perceives is truly "real"? Our experience of the world might be just a simulation of the mind, an elaboration of sensory signals, with no guarantee that we are truly connecting to an objective external world. Thus, it could be that other people, the things we touch, and the universe itself are nothing but mental projections, created by our mind as if it were a dream that never really exists outside of us.

 

[MyTimeIsUp]

If this was true, it would be an illusion for the entire planet too. This makes absolutely no sense.

If you had at least tried to make it sound believable, that would be more interesting, but you merely came up with what I've heard before. How original

 

[Forever Sleep]

Maybe, but it doesn't change the principle of cause and effect. If you stub your toe, it will hurt. Whether the table leg was real or just a mental projection- it will still hurt. If we could out- think pain, we wouldn't be suicidal I would think.

Same principle goes for food and hunger, water and thirst. And, the money you probably need to buy the things you need to survive. I wish I could just conjure that up rather than having to work for it.

Regardless of the nature of our reality, we're still stuck in it and bound by its rules- which kind of suck.

 

[L'absent]

If this was true, it would be an illusion for the entire planet too. This makes absolutely no sense.

If you had at least tried to make it sound believable, that would be more interesting, but you merely came up with what I've heard before. How original

I'm really curious to know what you find senseless or unbelievable in the concept I've presented. Which aspects do you find hardest to accept? It would be interesting to compare how we perceive reality and the way the human mind processes it. If you're open to sharing your perspective, I'd love to understand what makes the idea seem unreasonable to you.

 

[L'absent]

Maybe, but it doesn't change the principle of cause and effect. If you stub your toe, it will hurt. Whether the table leg was real or just a mental projection- it will still hurt. If we could out- think pain, we wouldn't be suicidal I would think.

Same principle goes for food and hunger, water and thirst. And, the money you probably need to buy the things you need to survive. I wish I could just conjure that up rather than having to work for it.

Regardless of the nature of our reality, we're still stuck in it and bound by its rules- which kind of suck.

I understand the point you're raising, and it's a valid observation. But going back to our initial reflection on the nature of reality, even though the principle of cause and effect seems undeniable, there's still the question of how we perceive those causes and effects. The pain we feel, for example, could be seen as a sensory experience filtered through our nervous system, and thus a sort of construction of the mind, even though it feels extremely tangible and "real" to us. So yes, if we stub our toe, the pain is something we cannot deny, but it is still a perception mediated by our mind.
In other words, even though we are bound by the laws of physical reality, our experience of these laws might not be the "reality" itself but a simulation of the mind, as we hypothesized. The rules that seem to govern our existence, such as the need for food, water, and money, might also be interpreted as mental constructs, which, although having tangible effects in our daily lives, could be the result of subjective perception.
So the question is not just whether we are "stuck" in reality, but whether what we call "real" is truly objective, or if our mind, with its projections, plays a fundamental role in determining our experience. The physical reality is there, but our perception of it might not be the only way to experience it.