View Full Version : Anyone else been obsessed with Solipsism
Solipsism used to really panic me... id manage to get through it and forget it..rationalise its just a theory... but it pops back from time to time, like today for some reason... I managed to find a good site, which puts it into perspective and makes me feel better, so i have to read that everytime it pops in my mind...
anyone else have problems with it??
I would say if you dont know what it is, then DONT google it... i didnt want to post incase it causes worry, but this site is for us to get reassurance, and just felt today i needed to know im not alone ..
nomorepanic
19-01-12, 00:38
Sorry I have never heard of it!
Hey,
well when I was doing Philosophy a-level we covered this and it did play on my mind a bit but as you said its only a theory and its not accepted as being likely. And it can't be proven either. I read an article which said if you had 10 solipsists in a room, which one would be the original being with only his/her own thoughts? :D
Why does it affect you so much do you think?
paula lynne
19-01-12, 10:16
What is it?
Hey,
Why does it affect you so much do you think?
i guess it the part below bothers me.. but then surely the only true sopilsists is GOD himelf...
1.2. The Subconscious Self is the Only True God
If the self created all of the universe and all of history as a feat of the imagination, it seems quite odd that we do not have an inherent understanding that this is the case. It is odd that we do not have immense superpowers. If all beings are the result of private reflection, and the universe is a game, created to entertain ourselves, it seems that the rules of physics and the limits of time and space could all be abandoned on a whim. Does anyone have these powers? Apparently not. The solipsist belief system must therefore explain why the ultimate truth of reality is so damn well hidden!
The best explanation is that the godly solipsist self creates the universe as required as part of a game in order to pass time, interest itself, and avoid boredom. But the best way to do this, as an omnipotent being, is to play an active part in the game. This requires severely limiting one's own power. So, the solipsist's subconscious created the universe, but hides this state of affairs from its own consciousness. Therefore, solipsism is arrived at through philosophy, not through instinctive belief or through the self demonstrating creative powers to itself. Only by dividing itself into an ignorant conscious self, ruled by an omnipotent subconscious self, could true boredom-averting procrastination be achieved.
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What is it?
a belief that there is only one conciousness and everything else is imagined
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http://www.humantruth.info/solipsism.html
Hi Stormsky,
If you are asking others outside of you for their opinions, then you cannot be a solipsist, at least in the sense of believing that yours is the only consciousness.
This board is based on the idea that there are people out there who are living different lives from us but can help us with their shared ideas.
Hanshan
Hi Stormsky,
If you are asking others outside of you for their opinions, then you cannot be a solipsist.
But even if it's true, can you say why it makes you anxious? I suppose that there are some people who would love to be alone in the universe. Is it this that makes you anxious?
Hanshan
no i totally get that i am not a solipsist.. else why dont i know it and why dont i have super powers, ultimate happiness etc.. its the bit that says the true solipsist creates another being of himself to play in the game, one that doesnt know he is the solipsist..
Hi Stormsky,
The idea that human beings have a limited consciousness that is dependent on an ultimate being with ultimate consciousness is basic to most world religions.
Hanshan
Hi Stormsky,
The idea that human beings have a limited consciousness that is dependent on an ultimate being with ultimate consciousness is basic to most world religions.
Hanshan
thats true, thanks
I think therefore I am confused, as a famous philosopher once put it (me!). Now I know why I dropped philosophy at college - you end up tying yourself in knots.
its the bit that says the true solipsist creates another being of himself to play in the game, one that doesnt know he is the solipsist..
I know what you mean, that is a creepy thought! Tbh I find that dwelling on philosophical theories like this only makes anxiety worse and makes my brain fuzzy, like thinking about the universe (assuming there is one and its not in my head :winks:) can be a real mind f***k and at the end of it I'm still none the wiser.
Have you talked to anyone about all this?
---------- Post added at 11:36 ---------- Previous post was at 11:34 ----------
I think therefore I am confused, as a famous philosopher once put it (me!). Now I know why I dropped philosophy at college - you end up tying yourself in knots.
Totally agree Robin, I ended up questioning almost everything anyone ever said or did after studying it for 2 years, it is a double edged sword as its great if you want to occupy your mind and think outside the box, but if you're prone to over thinking then it will only make it worse!
xhyperyogix
19-01-12, 11:58
I find all this stuff fascinating! But there are never any answers, and the universe or whatever it may be is always bigger than my brain which can feel like it will explode. !!! xxx
I can say whatever I want cos none of you lot exist outside my head:D
Like you say, philosophical theories are confusing at the best of times, and not the best things to dwell on if suffering anxiety! And if i am the solipsist that has created the game, and put myself in it unconsciously, then I would never know anyway!!, so whats the point in worrying bout it!! for all intense purposes, there is a real world we have to live in, with real consequences....time to let it go as just another theory that cant be proved or disproved!
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@robinbrum- did you try the Jarrows B right?
Not yet Stormsky, another one of the things on my ever-increasing to-do list. I was going to order them online but do you know if I can buy them in somewhere like Holland and Barrett or Boots?
Not yet Stormsky, another one of the things on my ever-increasing to-do list. I was going to order them online but do you know if I can buy them in somewhere like Holland and Barrett or Boots?
Dont think you can, i got mine on amazon.. just under £10 including del.. for 100 tablets, so 3 months worth... you get delivery within 2 days prob.. ebay have them too..
"And if i am the solipsist that has created the game, and put myself in it unconsciously, then I would never know anyway!!, so whats the point in worrying bout it!! for all intense purposes, there is a real world we have to live in, with real consequences...."
Right exactly! That's the thing, no matter what the absolute truth is, there is still a world we live in which feels real and people we interact with who to us are real people and there are consequences as you said.
It's just another great mystery of life/the universe/our existence. Interesting to think about though.
I find Epiphenominalism terrifying. Don't look it up. Your mind will just...kerboom.
Just looked it up, I couldnt resist :doh:
Its complicated isnt it? Does it basically mean we are soulless, mechanical beings?
cymraig_chris
19-01-12, 19:26
my standard answer to solopsism is:
Unfortunately Descartes hit the nail on the head with this one with the statement "I think therefore I am" this is where he is simply stating that the action of observing ourselves think is the only self demonstrative proof and thus everything else cannot be taken as truth, merely conjecture, i.e there is no absolute proof of anything else ... this of course leave much room for solipsism to exercise its trickery in the playground of the minds of the deep thinkers.
Fortunately in my opinion Descartes also provides the landscape of the solution.
Any attempt to answer solipsism is akin to attempting to levitate ourselves by tugging on our own shoelaces.
Rest assured that solipsism will never be answered given our current biological perceptual limits (thanks to the elegance of the Descartes sound bite). This leaves us with two simple choices:
1) To continue thinking/reading and seeking a solution thus and worrying about solipsism.
2) To accept that the question does not have an answer and with it the realisation that it is 'the asking of the question, by the action of seeking' and not the 'question itself' that provokes the solipsistic anxiety.
I.e:
the importance and the meaning lies not in the destination but the path.
Or
It is not what we achieve but what we attempt.
Or
it is not the goal but the choices we make to get there
There are many ways to state the above.
Solipsism is nothing more than a linguistic and psychological ruse, a trick of thought, a quirk of language.
An oddity, amongst many others.
Use another simple example:
Man: You can do everything right?
God: Yeah
Man: Make a rock so big that you can't lift it.
God: !
... a linguistic trick demonstrating the geometry of the linguistic loop.
What is the answer to these distractions?
Simply to not play the game.
How do we stop playing the game from within the infinite loop?
The answer:
We start the action of playing another game.
For even the solipsistic mind can only ever focus on one thing at a time. Thus the question is correctly unanswered and the focus is directed at a non-time-wastrel pursuit.
In my opinion of course.
Cogito ergo sum: I think, therefore I am.
It proves that you exist.
EDIT: Whoops already been said.
JamesOBrien
04-09-13, 15:56
I have been trying to study more about it so I can see where it is self refuting and also see if by studying it I could somehow prove physicalism. Also from what I've studied in solipsism I have been able to question it to the point of decay down into Berkeley's Idealism. When someone lacks power or consciousness of the world in which they inhabit it seems consciousness is not enough, so the solipsist says, "well the subconsciousness creates the world really." This makes me wonder the relationship between the subconscious and consciousness. This is where I got something like Berkeley's Idealism. However I may try to decay that or start from this point again and decay it into physicalism. However I would go with a general semantic's view of reality. That makes the most sense. Hope this calms down the fears. It IS REFUTABLE, no matter what anyone else says. I have already done so. I just have not proved physicalism, which I am doing now.
MidnightRunner
27-12-13, 21:52
The simply truth is no one knows the answer and perhaps one day we will. But the more will try and find answers to things that actually have no answers the longer time we are away from the simple things in life that make us happy.
There is perhaps a whole host of answers out there not just to this but to everything we question.
But... if theory was turned into fact and the answers were in front of us, would we cope and be ready for those answers? No. So don't worry about what you can't see or know for sure, worry about what we have now and enjoy life. :)
No.
Frankly, I have more important and better things to worry about than some hair brained theory.
In my opinion, this type of theory and pointless, fruitless speculations are pretentiousness personified.
Sorry.
Does that imply people would be stupid to feel fear from it?
I just pinch myself ;) And if I pinch someone else and they go "ouch", they exist too.
Or...
Break a fart in a room full of people. Not only will you smell it which proves it's real and you exist but the reaction from the rest of the room proves they exist too ~lol~
Positive thoughts
Does that imply people would be stupid to feel fear from it?
I would not say stupid, but to be perfectly honest, in my opinion, totally irrational.
What is the point in wasting precious time and energy worrying about existential questions that one will never find an answer to?
Logically speaking, If we WERE to discover that all we have is ourselves, and that is all that really exists, what changes? What can we do about that? Will knowing that alter our own existence or the 'perceived reality' of what is around us?
Umm, no.
I'm sorry, but IMO, worrying and fixating about this kind of thing is just another anxiety that we don't need, and certainly don't need to be enticed to dwell on through threads like this. The OP kindly did not state what solipsism was, but then the thread has inevitably gone on to reveal it anyway, so anyone highly anxious now has another thing to worry about to add to their list, and something that they are truly powerless to find a resolution to.
I just don't see that existential questions and anxieties are any use to anyone, when none of us will ever know.
It is enough hassle to worry about the tangible anxieties I have, not those that may or may not be true, and cannot ever be resolved or answered.
There was a post about the concept of infinity causing anxiety. I have a difficult time understanding how such concepts would actually cause anxiety. This is not to minimize anyone who gets anxious because of it, I just don't understand how or why it would.
Positive thoughts
I don't think there is any use in speculating in theories either as it does cause anxiety.
However I was in this position once of thining I was alone in fearing such things and to find out others can share and feel the same is a load off your mind and helps you to feel connected. It's hard to explain quite why this causes fear as it is of no danger to us but I believe it is more a fear of losing your mind overbeing stuck thinking about it.
It might not cause you guys fear, but it caused me intense fear and others too so you will have to accept that, even if you can't identify. Sometimes you can't help what an anxious mind fixates on.
Rennie1989
05-01-14, 17:48
I remember touching upon this at college years ago. I believe that if I can see it, hear it, taste it, smell it and touch it, then it's real. I don't understand why my mind would be the only real thing whilst everyone else, let alone materials, being an illusion or hologram. Why would I be so special?
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