Philosophy Now Forum

Do you believe in solipsism?

I'm not a solipsist, which is what I take you to be asking.

I "believe in it" in the sense in which I believe it's a stance one can have, etc.

Any other idea?

buket wrote:Do you believe in solipsism?

I prefer not to believe in it as I'm not very keen on the idea of me being a figment of your imagination.

Harbal wrote:

buket wrote:Do you believe in solipsism?

I prefer not to believe in it as I'm not very keen on the idea of me being a figment of your imagination.

Maybe I am a figment of your imagination

buket wrote:Do you believe in solipsism?

No ofc not, one must be REALLY mentally ill in order to believe in such stupidity.

buket wrote:Do you believe in solipsism?

flip a coin...

no, I accept your possible existence as another entity outside of myself...

yes, now you must prove to me that you are not a figment of my imagination...

-Imp

No I do not believe in solipsism because belief is an article of faith which requires zero evidence
And nor do I think that it is true because the existence of others clearly demonstrates its falsity

Harbal wrote:
I prefer not to believe in it as I am not very keen on the idea of me being a figment of your imagination

Yes but you could be the one who really exists and he could be the figment of your imagination instead

buket wrote:Do you believe in solipsism?

I'm sorry to have to tell you this but you do not really exist.
So your question is meaningless.

buket wrote:Do you believe in solipsism?

While one's own conscious experience is the only thing one can be 100% sure of existing, it's a stretch to extrapolate that to the idea that one's consciousness is the only thing that is real. Then you get all those saying that conscious experience is not real. Others say the whole lot is a sham.

My impression is that adherence to solipsism as an idea is about reducing pressure. If life with all its difficulties is not real then we need not worry about our floundering. The grapes were sour anyway, so the story goes.

It all depends on what side of my face I'm looking at. One side says You're the only one, the other says, think again!

Greta wrote:While one's own conscious experience is the only thing one can be 100% sure of existing, it's a stretch to extrapolate that to the idea that one's consciousness is the only thing that is real. Then you get all those saying that conscious experience is not real. Others say the whole lot is a sham.

Also, if one needs 100% certainty to believe something, then "Only my consciousness exists" isn't something that person would believe.

Dubious wrote:It all depends on what side of my face I'm looking at. One side says You're the only one, the other says, think again!

That may be because we are not just one thing. Aside from being a self and a world to microorganisms, we are also sub-components of many larger groups ranging from family to community to society to humanity, the biosphere, the Earth, the galaxy etc. That's confusing because we feel like we are all one thing.

Terrapin Station wrote:

Greta wrote:While one's own conscious experience is the only thing one can be 100% sure of existing, it's a stretch to extrapolate that to the idea that one's consciousness is the only thing that is real. Then you get all those saying that conscious experience is not real. Others say the whole lot is a sham.

Also, if one needs 100% certainty to believe something, then "Only my consciousness exists" isn't something that person would believe.

How about one's presence in this reality?

Dubious wrote:It all depends on what side of my face I'm looking at. One side says You're the only one, the other says, think again!

Greta wrote:That may be because we are not just one thing. Aside from being a self and a world to microorganisms, we are also sub-components of many larger groups ranging from family to community to society to humanity, the biosphere, the Earth, the galaxy etc. That's confusing because we feel like we are all one thing.

Usually when I feel like only one thing, the word that best describes it starts with I and ends with T. This reduced sense of identity forgoes a lot of complications.