My twisted theory: do we exist?

[Real]

Yes... I don't really believe in it, but I've been thinking over the years...

What if everything is a product of your imagination or someone else's? What if you don't exist? What if you are just... part of someone's imagination?

Or not. What if everything is your imagination? What if I, writing this, do not exist? What if I'm just a part of your imagination?


Feel free to post your opinion.

[Dunecat]

I think- therefore I am.

[-Conan the Barbarian-]

I think- therefore I am.

That was the first thing I thought of too when I read the first post...rep'ed

[Real]

That's what I mean. Wat if all of this is your imagination?

And again, no, I don't believe in this. I just want to know what you people think about it.

[Yosemite]

Cut the forehead of your pleasure giver - then you'll see if you really exist.

[Rhah]

I know that I exist, but I can't absolutely prove that any of you exist, or anyone else at all for that matter.
You could either be figments of my imagination, or you could be images implanted into my mind by an external source.
Perhaps I am actually some sort of lab animal in an alien laboratory... maybe they grew me from the last surviving DNA left by the Human race before it made itself extinct a millenia ago. Every experience i've ever had could be a simulacra of reality created to test my reactions, so they can learn about humanity from studying a live subjects interactions with an approximation of its natural environment.

If this is the case however, then I would like them to know that I require a better existence, with more money and a harem of beautiful women at my beck and call.

[Real]

Rhah, long time, no see!

Yes, that is what I mean... without the alien thing, but it's your opinion!

Well, I just hope those aliens are better with me from now on, because I'm so bloddy tired of this miserable loveless life..... or dream?

[empty]

This is nihilism. Or 90% percent similar to it.
I think that human race is useless such as every single being on the universe.
We don't make any big diference. Only on Earth and Earth isn't nothing special on the Universe. Just the only planet we know that has life. In fact, our existence isn't either good, we massacre ourselves (if you look on humanity's history, see all the atrocities human beins have done and are permanently doing). It would be better for us to be irrational than own these unusual rationatility.
The fact is, nobody can proove this or have a final solution for this thread. The solution, if you accept it, would be like a percentage of who thinks we exist and their reasons for that or the oposite of these earlier things I've mentioned.

So, do we exist? I don't know neither existence knows.

[Perikles]

We believe we do exist for a number of reasons. From about the age of 7 I have wondered if I am the only being capable of thinking and everyone else is but just a thought from this imagination (strange child, I know). I discarded this for a few reasons, firstly the likliness of me to other human beings. Secondly I am obviously growing, this means I began somewhere and something caused me to exist (much like the first cause argument for God), therfore life must have existed before me. If life were a figment of my imagination nothing would have existed before. There is obviously the 'I think therefore I am' argument too. I am thinking, to think I need to have the physical ability and energy to think, therefore I must exist.

[empty]

No... who said if you are thinking you need to exist? And who defines the "rules" you supposely are imposing? This whole universe is full of mystery and things unrevealed to our eyes (if we even have them...).
You weren't a strange child, since thought about your singularity above others (like me). I think Kurt Cobain also had the same feelings he thought in a way he was like unique.
God doesn't exist. There ins't a rule that requires him/her or whatever it is to exist!... That statement isn't correct since our logic is our rationality and since there are chances of being other life than ours on the universe, we have to admit that we think as we think and they would think as they think. Kinda confusing isn't it?
I know I don't make sense while writing this, it's just that brainstorms make me feel better somehow. And practicing my "portuguesed" english is always a good fact that I must care of.

[Real]

Well, the brain is the one that makes pleasure, but you just feel it down there...

I'll just go ahead and say that post was for your post count...

[Yosemite]

Well, the brain is the one that makes pleasure, but you just feel it down there...

I'll just go ahead and say that post was for your post count...

But you touch it to have the pleasure. So it's the one to gives the pleasure, with the brain reacting to the touching. Cause you can't just have the extrem pleasure with only your mind.

[Real]

I disagree. Mind is the source of pleasure. And momentaneous pleasure is useless, compared to the power of your mind.

[Yosemite]

Okay, dreams and all. But what i'm saying is, if you cut your forehead of the penix, then it would be so painfull that you will see it's not imagination. The pain will tell you 'wtf it's real'

[Tom Paine]

Actually, it won't; Descartes' evil demon puts paid to that one; perception is not trustable, unless we can verify it.

However to deal with the thread itself, what do you mean by exist? As a being with extension in the physical world? As a thought or thinking thing? What exactly is existence in this context?

[Holger Danske]

Everything I can touch, see, and hear is real to me.

[empty]

I think he means global existence, including physical and mental part. It's hard to explain this sort of stuff, at least for me... These are the moments I'd wish to be english, so that I could have words for all these questions.
Besides, existence can be physically and mentally associated can't it? It wouldn't even exist for us if we were irrational (in one way it would because we existed, if you think there's existence; in other words we didn't exist because we couldn't even think about it).
My words are more twisted than this theory...

[Tom Paine]

Everything I can touch, see, and hear is real to me.

An subjective view of reality? Fine. But is there also an objective standard of reality?

I think he means global existence, including physical and mental part. It's hard to explain this sort of stuff, at least for me... These are the moments I'd wish to be english, so that I could have words for all these questions.
Besides, existence can be physically and mentally associated can't it? It wouldn't even exist for us if we were irrational (in one way it would because we existed, if you think there's existence; in other words we didn't exist because we couldn't even think about it).
My words are more twisted than this theory...

Existence can be in various forms. There is the mental existence that Descartes asserts in the cogito, and there is the physical everyday existence he asserts as his final conclusion to the Meditations. Dependant on which definition is being used, I have different responses.

[Wrath]

I sure hope that I exist, if I find out that I don't exist I will be very dissapointed.

[Skyler]

I had a few experiences that left me contemplating about the existence of my mind, the personality of my mind to be exact.

It is hard to write experiences down because it somewhat demolish the experience but I will try anyway.

One experience came for an accident I had which involved a broken arm and the midicanal drugs I got administerd to counter the pain, leaving me in a state in which I did not recognized myself to be anything I was prior to the accident.

Although this was the cause of drugs I got administerd I also had an experience in which I was sleeping before someone woke me up and I could not tell who that person or myself for that mather was, although I knew that person and obviously myself . My person(bodie and mind) reacted automated to the presence of the individual in question and it took a few minutes for me to understand what is was doing, who I was talking to, what I was saying and who I was.