Perhaps the idea of "universe" is "collective" ... like language. — 180 Proof
One dreams alone. One, however, shares the real world with others. — 180 Proof
!!That we can't (even if we wake up) is the heart of skepticism
... solipsism — 180 Proof
Mass hallucination; more realistically, mass delusion. — Agent Smith
On that assumption what remains to be explained is how it is that we all see the same things in the same locations. — Janus
Why not? Houses, bridges, cars, doors, steps, parks, roads, sidewalks etc, etc. — Janus
One thing that puzzles me is why the universe is more a nightmare than a wet dream? — Agent Smith
Because it can't plausibly be denied.
That, incidentally, is the 'First Noble Truth' of Buddhism. — Wayfarer
Good question. If reality needs an observer then reality and observation are one and the same. If this is the case then where is the observer in relation to reality/observation? This idea that reality needs an observer ends up defining the observer and observation out of existence and what remains is only reality - wirhout an observer.How can reality need an observer? It needs an observer to observe it, not to create it. — Raymond
Say humanity was instantly and totally wiped out somehow; you don't think all the buildings, roads, furniture, cars and so on would remain? — Janus
Something would remain, yes. That's the belief in the external world.
But what would remain would not be "buildings", "roads", "furniture" nor "cars". They would be "things", or some other very general, abstract term.
I very much doubt another creature has these concepts, nor knows what these things are. — Manuel
All theatrical. One thing that puzzles me is why the universe is more a nightmare than a wet dream? — Agent Smith
Why would there have to be creatures with "these concepts" in order for physical structures in various forms to exist? — Janus
It needs an observer to observe it, not to create it. — Raymond
It very likely exists it some manner, I don't doubt that, but what can be said of this existence, absent people is very little.
For instance, I don't think a feline creature or an insect, would make sense of a building, and if the only creatures that remained after a nuclear holocaust were insects, then there'd be very little world to speak of, it would be something like an undifferentiated mass, with places to go to and maybe some food. — Manuel
But that says nothing about whether the actual structures would remain; and that is all I've been claiming. — Janus
Kaccāna, this world mostly relies on the dual notions of existence and non-existence. But when you truly see the origin of the world with right understanding, you won’t have the notion of non-existence regarding the world. And when you truly see the cessation of the world with right understanding, you won’t have the notion of existence regarding the world. The world is for the most part shackled by attraction, grasping, and insisting. But if—when it comes to this attraction, grasping, mental fixation, insistence, and underlying tendency—you don’t get attracted, grasp, and commit to the notion ‘my self’, you’ll have no doubt or uncertainty that what arises is just suffering arising, and what ceases is just suffering ceasing. Your knowledge about this is independent of others.
This is how right view is defined. ‘All exists’: this is one extreme. ‘All doesn’t exist’: this is the second extreme. Avoiding these two extremes, the Realized One teaches by the middle way: ‘Ignorance is a condition for choices. Choices are a condition for consciousness. … [the rest of the 12 elements of dependent origination follow] — Kaccanagotta Sutta
The same structure causes us to see a pond, causes an alien to see a bed. — Manuel
What do you gain by saying "actual" structure? I ask because, I could imagine another intelligent being, conceptualizing the same thing, in a way we would not. For example what we call a "pond", could be bed to that creature.
The same structure causes us to see a pond, causes an alien to see a bed. — Manuel
What we take to be real is dependent on the kind of being that we are. — Wayfarer
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