What ultimately defines "reality?"

[hellas1]

Hi all,

Been thinking about the "esse" of reality.

What defines "reality?"

Is it the scientific method?
Is it faith?
Is it pure logic (The kind found in formal logic books)
Is it mystical in nature?
Is it language & syntax?
Is it biology & chemistry?

To me it is all these things and none.

Why?
Each of the above aforementioned "aspects" of reality grasp at an property of "reality" but do
not contextualize "reality" as such, making any qualification/quantification NULL.

Comments?

[Arch-hereticK]

It's your subjective opinion that defines your reality and someone else's subjective opinion that defines theirs.

The labels you listed are bodies of study where more than one person's opinion defines them as studies of reality.

[Justice and Mercy]

It's your subjective opinion that defines your reality and someone else's subjective opinion that defines theirs.

The labels you listed are bodies of study where more than one person's opinion defines them as studies of reality.

There is no subjective reality. The term is a contradiction.

There is reality, and there are various perceptions of reality.

Want to define reality?

A is A. Start there.

[Arch-hereticK]

There is no subjective reality. The term is a contradiction.

There is reality, and there are various perceptions of reality.

Want to define reality?

A is A. Start there.

The only reality is the agreed reality. A is A only because we say so.

[Bovril]

"Reality" is a way of describing that which we considder to be reliably external to our of being.

[Ronojoy1917]

"...that everything that's real, is only what our eyes can see and our hands can feel..."- This Is Not The End by The Bravery

The closest thing to defining reality is talking about the little man in your brain.

But reality is undefinable. To define it, you would have to know what it is. And how can you know the nature of reality?

[karamazovmm]

Reality is a construct that serves to acknowledge the world around us and for the world to acknowledge us, this is a mutual construct, nourished by the two actors in it, moreover it should be said that reality also serves in terms of defining ourselves and how by that definition we behave in the world.

With this we can say that the reality is what defines and is defined by our actions and interactions with it, and the people, however it should not be forgotten that reality mistakes itself with our perception, our sense of purpose and motto is partly what defines our actions, thus we can say that the reality is concentrated in the being, and not what actually surrounds, its more of intimate perception, a mirror that shows what we are inside on the outside.

Although there is a large possibility of crazyness

[Denny Crane!]

Reality is a construct that serves to acknowledge the world around us and for the world to acknowledge us, this is a mutual construct, nourished by the two actors in it, moreover it should be said that reality also serves in terms of defining ourselves and how by that definition we behave in the world.

With this we can say that the reality is what defines and is defined by our actions and interactions with it, and the people, however it should not be forgotten that reality mistakes itself with our perception, our sense of purpose and motto is partly what defines our actions, thus we can say that the reality is concentrated in the being, and not what actually surrounds, its more of intimate perception, a mirror that shows what we are inside on the outside.

Although there is a large possibility of crazyness

Our interpretation of reality is subjective but reality is objective on the macro level. On a quantum level I acknowledge it gets murky and my level of ignorance increases.

We don't define reality but our filters that effect how we perceive it and more importantly what those interpretations mean to our own personal reality are important but if reality didn't remain objective to a large degree logic and empiricism could not exist and it does.

[iudas]

Perception.

[TheXand]

Perception.

I would second this, perception of it defines reality. While this might lead people to bring up the Matrix, reality is to each individual how they perceive it, so while a crazy person or someone in the Matrix might perceive reality differently than what it really might be that is still their reality.

[Amorphos]

Perception defines how we see reality not reality itself?

[TheXand]

Perception defines how we see reality not reality itself?

Since human beings are incapable of seeing reality as someone else perceives it, it would seem logical to assume that how you yourself perceives reality is what reality actually is because how would you know otherwise without being someone else?

[Amorphos]

Since human beings are incapable of seeing reality as someone else perceives it, it would seem logical to assume that how you yourself perceives reality is what reality actually is because how would you know otherwise without being someone else?

Well it doesn’t matter how we know reality is the same weather or not we exist. Not everything is subjective, we are not entirely 'brains in a vat', if you see a mountain you can asume others see exactly the same thing given the same objective input. It is only in the case of things like optical illusions where reality becomes blurred, but even then we all see the same illusion, having the same instrumentation of sight.

[Amorphos]

to op; a oneness more than anything, necessarily so.

[Poach]

Depends on your definition of "reality".

The modern and quite incorrect usage of reality is interchangable with perception, and thus by this (though I strees technically incorrect) definition, the world as you perceive it is reality.

In the correct definition, reality is all that is. As such, reality is the Universe and everything contained within, and also without should there be planes or dimensions of existence that are not confined to our Universe. Today, reality cannot be completely defined because we have come nowhere near close to discovering and understanding all that is.

Edit: This debate amongst the more artistic people about what we all see is absolute nonsense. As mentioned above, show someone a mountain and they will see the same mountain you see. Everyone sees the number 2 the same, everyone sees a car to be a car. The only difference in physical perception comes from the condition of one's eyes. Emotional perception is confined entirely within our own minds, and cannot be argued to change the literal perception of an object.

[Amorphos]

I agree poach, as to your edit, as you know in philosophical circles the difference is in the 'qualia' derived of the senses which can be interpreted by the mind.

I think we have to accept that reality is more than our perception of it [?], I believe we can draw a reality map aside from this.


…and yes the universe cannot be all that is, the reality map must expand to infinity at least.

[Lupu]

Easy: everything. Don't dare question it .

[Adrian]

Thats a very hard question because my own views are practically irrelevant on what constitutes the "real" universe or universes we are for the moment stuck here in our own bubble of space and time and we can't really define what we can't comprehend.


With my limited "perspective" I can only define it as well I can't I understand the concept but find myself unable to define what is reality on an universal scale.

A simple answer would be from the observers perspective would be all that can be observed and understood even in a limit manner by group peer approval but this does not satisfy me and I don't see it this way.

"reality" at the moment is a social construct on our current stage of comprehension so its relative but also subject to a "hive mind" perspective.


But I admit that for now I can't really comprehend it at an universal scale and our limited views may prove wrong based on our proximity in space and time.

[karamazovmm]

Reality is a construct that serves to acknowledge the world around us and for the world to acknowledge us, this is a mutual construct, nourished by the two actors in it, moreover it should be said that reality also serves in terms of defining ourselves and how by that definition we behave in the world.

With this we can say that the reality is what defines and is defined by our actions and interactions with it, and the people, however it should not be forgotten that reality mistakes itself with our perception, our sense of purpose and motto is partly what defines our actions, thus we can say that the reality is concentrated in the being, and not what actually surrounds, its more of intimate perception, a mirror that shows what we are inside on the outside.

Although there is a large possibility of crazyness

No love for me?

[Del Valle]

Reality is a constant, yet it is unaccessible to us due to our senses distorting it so our minds can understand it. Each of us only sees a sliver of it, with every other person seeing a slightly different sliver.