Subjective experience and object of reality essay

Before we are born, we do not decide on the body we will have.

As I see it, there are only two viable possibilities for the nature of reality and how it relates to our personal experience of life. Either reality is completely external to us - something we are born into and have very limited control over. Or, it is entirely internal, meaning all of reality is a projection of our inner being.

These are the two extreme and polar positions. It is possible to posit a third alternative of some combination of external and internal, but for reasons I will elucidate in a bit, I do not believe that is a viable possibility.

So why is the question of the true nature of reality even important? Conscious Critters You are a conscious critter - you are aware of yourself as a distinct entity. We humans are all conscious critters, with varying degrees of self-awareness.

All of our experiences are filtered through our consciousness for interpretation, evaluation and response.

Therefore, the only way we are capable of knowing reality is through the mediation of our consciousness - that is, subjectively. This has led to what is known in philosophy as the Problem of Other Minds.

We experience our own consciousness directly, but we cannot directly experience the consciousness of someone else. We can only infer their consciousness from their behaviors.

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Nor can we perform a Vulcan Mind Meld to join consciousnesses with others. So while it might seem reasonable to assume that others are conscious, we really have no way of proving it without using consciousness as the primary means to determine consciousness - a bootstrap maneuver if I ever heard one!

Objective vs. Subjective Reality A popular thought experiment asks this hypothetical question: if a tree falls in a forest and there is no one to hear it, does it make a sound? The objective reality in this scenario is that the tree did fall in the forest and made a sound. Published: Mon, 03 Jul In this essay we look at the theories of Plato, Descartes and Locke and their views on what reality is, we look at what perception means to reality, and how everyone’s view on reality is different. Reality is the totality of human experience and thought in relation to an objective world. Now this is the next aspect we have to analyze. Is this objective world, which we encounter in our experience and thought, something that exists on its own or is it dependent on our subjectivity.

So, if there is no way to prove that other people are conscious, to assume that they are is a huge leap of faith based on some pretty shaky evidence. Yet our culture makes this assumption and even takes it farther.

In other words, we were born into this already on-going reality that has been cranking along for billion of years, and we have very limited influence on this external reality that existed long before us and will continue to exist long after we are gone.

Each of these conscious critters, according to mainstream thought, has its own subjective way of experiencing the world and interpreting those experiences, but somehow, we manage to agree enough on our interpretations to mostly get along. It is where our interpretations of our experiences differ that we clash.

Nobody knows where our consciousness comes from or really how or why it functions. But we all seem to have one and they are all different and unique. So, according to mainstream thought, we all are trapped alone inside our own subjective minds while also being thrown into an external reality that we have very little control over.

Sounds pretty sucky to me. Now mainstream thought does not offer any explanations why this should be so, nor any proof. All it does is assume and assert this is "how it is - like it or lump it.

This view holds that consciousness is all there is, and that all consciousness is unitive - that is, there are no pesky other minds to become a problem. Not your ego-self you, or your physical body you, but rather the consciousness which is observing and experiencing you.

It is this Inner Being which is the Ultimate Consciousness. Most of us are only dimly aware of this inner self, because unless conscious effort is made to contact it, it is content to sit and watch and enjoy the ride.objective or subjective WHAT IS THE TRUE NATURE OF REALITY?

As I see it, there are only two viable possibilities for the nature of reality and how it relates to our personal experience of life. Published: Mon, 03 Jul In this essay we look at the theories of Plato, Descartes and Locke and their views on what reality is, we look at what perception means to reality, and how everyone’s view on reality is different.

The ratio of subjective and objective reality. The philosophical concept of being covers the widest possible reality. These are material things and all processes .

Subjective knowledge would then be knowledge of any subjective reality. We will write a custom essay sample on Subjective Experience and Object of Reality specifically for you for only $ $/page. Therefore, there is no objective reality that we can discern, and all reality is subjective.

Reality is a social construct, a common denominator of the subjective experiences and perceptions of society forms our reality. Subjective reality only takes as real what it experiences first-hand, since external or objective reality is not seen as a reliable report, coming from second-hand sources.

This approach is also known as Gnosticism - the seeking of direct knowledge (Gnosis), rather than accepting external reports as knowledge without personal experience.