Questions tagged [solipsism]

The position that only one's own existence can be demonstrated to exist (and that everything and everyone else cannot.)

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Why is it reasonable to believe that the world will continue to exist after I die?

Why is it reasonable to believe that the world will continue to exist after I die? I am not asking for an absolute proof, just a reasonably convincing argument.
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Burden of proof and solipsism

If we say that the burden of proof is on the one making the claim and thus we should only believe in something if we have proof and should otherwise discard it, than the saying that an external world ...
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Does quantum immortality mean solipsism?

If when we die another universe is created in which we live, then would the people of that universe be real?( by that i mean conscious beings like myself) or am I misunderstanding QI?
Rayyan khan's user avatar
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Will you appreciate my arguments against solipsism? [closed]

A month ago I wrote here. As time passed, I was able to collect some interesting arguments against solipsism in my piggy bank. Let's discuss them! There is definitely me here. I can't exist alone by ...
Lyna Harmony's user avatar
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Has brain-to-brain communication been addressed in the literature, and if so, is there a fundamental reorganization of philosophy required?

Answering Is this a good argument against mental causation? led me to a simple metaphysical question, and I wonder if anyone in the Western Canon addressed it, particularly someone in the last century....
J D's user avatar
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Why don't you (personally) worry about solipsism?

We can say as much as we like that solipsism is irrefutable, but isn't that a reason to worry? Personally, it scares me that I can be left alone in a meaningless world. If solipsism has passed you by, ...
Lyna Harmony's user avatar
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1 answer
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If some people don't have an internal monologue, is that a problem for arguments for the existence of other minds?

https://www.verywellmind.com/does-everyone-have-an-inner-monologue-6831748 All arguments in favor of the existence of other minds claim that other people have minds similar to my mind. My mind is ...
Arti's user avatar
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Why are the existence of obstacles to our will considered a counterargument to solipsism?

In another (unrelated) question, the topic of solipsism came up in the comments, as well as the counterargument that there exist obstacles to our will, things out of our control, and so reality must ...
Justin Hilyard's user avatar
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2 answers
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How is the term "existence" even defined for things other than your subjective experience?

Lots of philosophies talk about an objective world that exists outside of one's mind. Some philosophies even say that this objective world is the only thing that exists, and that subjective qualia are ...
Ryder Rude's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
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Is solipsism truly unprovable?

I know I’ve asked a lot of these but this one I’m hoping to be definitive. I have heard pretty much everyone say that it’s unprovable, that you can’t know for sure if it’s true or not because of the ...
DarkNeos's user avatar
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Does this paper “prove” solipsism is true?

https://vernonpress.com/file/7502/e19b0d05052691e5d1fa06f3a2939a5f/1543562412.pdf I wanted to ask people on here to take a look at the above and see if it does. From what I know you can’t prove it ...
DarkNeos's user avatar
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Has this mathematically proven solipsism? [duplicate]

http://bc.upjp2.edu.pl/Content/5621/35_PDFsam_Ca%C5%82o%C5%9B%C4%87%20ze%20znakiem%20wodnym3.pdf It's not so much the math as it is these things in the link: More generally, there can be no deductive ...
DarkNeos's user avatar
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1 answer
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Artificial intelligence ChatGPT said that solipsism is true. Any evidence of solipsism?

A user on Reddit was told by the artificial intelligence ChatGPT that solipsism is true. Why did he say that? Is there any evidence of solipsism that ChatGPT knows about? Should ChatGPT be trusted or ...
Robert Antoni's user avatar
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Is Levinas only interested in kind of universal Otherness?

Do I "encounter" the Other if I do not know what my "responsibilities" to them are? rather than formulating an ethical theory, Levinas developed his philosophy in opposition to ...
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Pragmatism vs Truth: Does evolution prioritise one over the other?

Pragmatism: Pragmatism is a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found ...
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Should a solipsist get life insurance?

What are the reasons for a convinced metaphysical solipsist to get life insurance?
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What is lost with solipsism (for the non-egocentric)?

I was thinking about the claim that other (future past etc. groups) people don't matter at all, and wondered in what way solipsism, which I think implies this ambivalence, might impoverish us, either ...
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5 votes
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237 views

Does the existence of non-understandable concepts refute solipsism?

First, I am aware that most of the essays regarding solipsism and the existence of philosophical zombies conclude that there is no way to confirm or refute them. From my perspective, there is a vast ...
Vikter's user avatar
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An Argument against Descartes's radical doubt

Reflecting on Descartes's evil genius, I came up with an argument to use against his radical skepticism, that is, when he doubts even the basic laws of logic and basic mathematics (3 + 2 = 5). The ...
Zeruel017's user avatar
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What if I get born again as the same person for ever?

What if after I die my life starts all over again? With the same body and the same consciousness! Do you have counterarguments? 😓
Bee Berry's user avatar
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What if my life starts all over again for all eternity?

What if only I have a consciousness and after I die my life starts all over again for all eternity?! And the memories of my previous life get deleted? Please give me counterarguments! 😔
Bee Berry's user avatar
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What if my life gets repeated again and again?

What if only I am real? What if when I die my life starts all over again? Like an endless loop? And all of my memories get deleted? Please give me arguments against this!
Bee Berry's user avatar
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135 views

How can I debunk solipsism?

What if my consciousness is the only thing that is real? What if the entire world does not exist in a material way? What if only this moment exists? What if the past is an illusion? What if people etc....
Bee Berry's user avatar
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What are the best Arguments against solipsism?

I am afraid that only my consciousness exists. That basically my consciousness simulates my body and the entire world. Please help me.
Bee Berry's user avatar
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Help with whether other minds exist, 'best explanation' argument

I recently read an article about other minds and there were two good arguments for other minds. The first is the analogy argument. As I understand it, this argument is already outdated. The second ...
Johnny's user avatar
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Is Epistemological solipsism a contradiction?

Epistemological solipsism in a nutshell regards the external world as unknowable. This in turn is an assertion that "the knowledge of the external world is unknowable" and thus a ...
SkepticSkeptic101's user avatar
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What are the strong and contemporary philosophical arguments for believing in other minds? [duplicate]

What are the historically most cited and used arguments that philosophers have made for believing that other people have individual minds and feelings contrary to the assertions of solipsists?
John's user avatar
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Does Japan and Chinese Buddhism Teach Solipsism or Nihilism?

Do the modern schools of Buddhism Soto, Rinzai, Jodo-shu, Jodo Shinshu, Nichiren, Shingon in Japan teach Buddhists, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas any varieties of solipsism and any varieties of nihilism? ...
Jack's user avatar
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2 answers
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How do Chinese and Japanese Buddhists perceive people?

I have seen many answers to similar questions, but they do not answer my question. The fact is that the Mahayana doctrine (which is popular in China and Japan) leads to Nihilism or Solipsism. I asked ...
Artemon's user avatar
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Can the Universe make sense at all?

Considering that nearly everything that exists cannot be even imagined by humans (or would it be reasonable to assume the contrary?), what is the chance of finding a scientifically coherent ...
user1975053's user avatar
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Simulation hypothesis and solipsism

Is Nick Bostrom's simulation hypothesis a solipsistic idea? This hypothesis says that only I have consciousness, and all other people are unconscious philosophical zombies? Which version of the ...
Ron's user avatar
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How common is solipsism among philosophers, scientists and common people?

How common is solipsism? On the opinion of philosophers what percentage of the population believes in solipsism? 1. How many percent of philosophers believe in solipsism? 2. How many percent of ...
John's user avatar
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2 answers
558 views

Different between Buddhism and Solipsism

What is the difference between Buddhism, Hinduism and Solipsism? Do all these religion say that other people have no mind's? If all these religions are like solipsism, then are all Chinese and Hindus ...
Arnold's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
650 views

Does modern philosophy believe in solipsism?

Does modern philosophy support solipsism? How many philosophers support this idea? Does solipsism scare philosophers? For example, the fact that all their close people can be unconscious, without ...
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Solipsism and other minds

Solipsism claims that other minds do not exist and therefore other people are unconscious and feel nothing at all. Doesn't this worry you? How does philosophy deal with this?
Artemon's user avatar
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Your argument is invalid if you didn't experience it!

Consider the following scenario: Person A never ate a cake. Person B has eaten cake before. Now A has the opinion that A dislikes cake (and brings up several arguments), but B argues "You've ...
kiaat's user avatar
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0 answers
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Solipsism, except everyone shares a single mind?

It's conceivable that I could suddenly switch places with someone else. I'm not talking about our brains switching places, but rather, from now on, my mind experiencing the other person's qualia. ...
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1 answer
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Where does Moore admit that no one really knows the truth about those propositions that supposedly we all know?

Alfred Jules Ayer, in a conference where he exposes the achievements of Moore, starts it by saying: "It is true that Moore diminishes the force of his position by adding that no one knows the ...
algo's user avatar
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2 answers
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If the "Problem of Qualia" is valid, then how can we communicate?

I was reading about qualia and how there's apparently the problem of qualia because a unique experience is constrained to one subject (?). But I don't see how this is meaningful in any way since ...
Hierarchist's user avatar
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0 answers
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Did Hegel have a response to solipsism?

Did Hegel have a response to solipsism? I have read little Hegel, but I like the idea that he did have a response to solipsism.
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1 answer
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Is there a way to prove that I'm not in a simulation or a vr of some sorts in which everything I see, feel, etc aren't real? [duplicate]

My question is could all I think of as real in this world, the pain, the happiness, sadness all just be part of some futuristic vr of some sorts that is making me think i am thinking and doing all im ...
jack's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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I could prove: Solipsism is wrong. Is my argument acceptable?

Solipsism is the idea that one cannot be sure of anyone's existence but only themself. I think that one can assume this idea to be right and then prove that this is wrong. This self-inconsistency ...
seyed sepehr mousavi's user avatar
5 votes
6 answers
399 views

How can there be multiple "points of view" in the world?

Let's assume the world is defined as everything there is. Then subjective experiences are included in the world, and they are "things". Then each subjective experience has a point of view through ...
siamii's user avatar
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11 votes
4 answers
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How does Berkeley justify existence of other minds?

I don't understand how Berkeley justifies existence of other minds in his system. Is it something that he takes for granted? Because, his position seems very close to that of a solipsist except for ...
Non-Being's user avatar
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Solipsism, Certainty, and Doubt

Given that solipsism implies epistemological certainty of one's world, because there is nothing more to know than that what a solipsist knows about the world (implying that the world and reality are ...
Wallows's user avatar
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1 answer
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How to make sense of minds of others? [closed]

I've asked a question about the criteria for existence, but here I want to focus on a particular aspect. What does it mean If I say: Bob has a mind - Bob's mind exists - Bob is not a philosophical ...
asmani's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
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Using solipsism's incoherence with doubt as proof of the external world?

I have the following rough outline of utilizing solipsism as a proof by contradiction to the goal of asserting an epistemological proof of the external world. A solipsist (Wittgenstian) lives in a ...
Wallows's user avatar
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Can a solipsist doubt?

I've been thinking about epistemological solipsism, which seemingly necessarily follows from metaphysical solipsism. Namely, that the "world" of the solipsist is one and the same with the self of the ...
Wallows's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Has any philosopher claimed that reality is a simulation, and the evil genius wants us to stay alive, in order to explain what seems like a miracle? [closed]

Has any philosopher claimed that reality is a simulation, and the evil genius wants us to stay alive, in order for that philosopher to explain what seems like a miracle? Would anyone ever admit to ...
user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
367 views

Does Valberg's "personal horizon" entail life after death?

The personal horizon is, Valberg contends, the subject matter whose center each of us occupies, and which for each of us ceases with death. This ceasing to be presents itself solipsistically not ...
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