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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Are there any philosophical arguments to disprove or weaken solipsism?
My philosophy professor once told our class: The only people who believe in solipsism are infants and madmen. I was inclined to agree at the time. Yet years later, I have still not encountered any ...
user151
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Is Skepticism the most rational standpoint?
Is Philosophical Skepticism - the one that advocates true knowledge is impossible, the most rational standpoint?
I am asking this based on the observation that there are very few things whose ...
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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 ...
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Computational counter-argument for solipsism [closed]
First let me elaborate the argument.
Take a calculator (wolframalpha, google or other software tools may serve as well).
Perform some very complex operation.
Write down the operation and the result ...
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Is it reasonable to believe that others have sentient minds?
Obviously I'm not looking for a valid deductive proof using formal logic, but at least a relatively convincing argument.
How do I know that humans who I encounter other than myself have sentient ...
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Are there philosophers who examined the reasons for believing in the existence of other people?
While I am familiar with Descartes and the oft-quoted idea, I think therefore I am, I am not familiar with any philosophy that actively sought to rationalize that anybody else exists.
Are there ...
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What is the inverse of solipsism?
Solipsism is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist.
Does there exist a term to define the concept that one only exists due to one's perception and interpretation by others' ...
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Why does all of existence take place through my subjective point of view?
Asking such a question almost seems a bit insane. While I agree that there certainly seems to exist an objective external reality of which I seem to be a part of, I can never experience existence in a ...
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What did Thomas Nagel intend to distinguish, in distinguishing 'impression' vs 'perception of reality'?
Source: pp 15-16, What Does It All Mean? A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy (1987) by Prof. Thomas Nagel
According to this view, the idea of a dream from which you can never wake up is not ...
user8572
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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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Is it possible to refute subjective reality?
Subjective reality as explained here:
Subjective Reality (SR), as I describe it, is the perspective that your true identity is the dreamer having the dream, so you are the conscious container in ...
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Does idealism allow for thought without any sensory input?
As I understand, idealism is the view that the mind is fundamental and the body as well as the world we perceive are just derivatives of the mind. Is this right?
If so, if we had a hypothetical being,...
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Does anyone have a good answer to or deconstruction of the 'problem of other minds'?
I'm absolutely obsessed with the problem. I've seen many people dismiss it, and I've seen many arguments against it, none of which seem to cut the logical mustard. The problem for me boils down to "...
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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 ...
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Do esoteric mathematical equations refute hard solipsism?
Say you were to come upon a mathematical equation whose variables and sheer complexity were beyond your knowledge at that point in time. As an example, a simple algebraic problem may seem to be a ...
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Are consistent solipsists limited to the singular when referencing themselves?
If you are an Idealistic Solipsist, is it not true that you must say "I am a Solipsist." or "I am the Solipsist."?
One cannot say "I am one of the Solipsists" for example.
Are there other ...
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How does Descartes make contact with the world?
Descartes' cogito allows him to deny extreme sceptism; but then how does he actually make contact with the world as opposed to saying - I exist and the world is my (unconscious) invention -, i.e. ...
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What is Wittgenstein's "criterial solution" to the problem of other minds?
I'm having difficulty with the language in this article on the Problem of Other Minds. It provides 3 solutions to the epistemological problem of other minds in section 1.1 - "The Epistemological ...
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Convincing a brain in a vat of reality
Pondering at the arguments at wiki:
In other words, if a brain in a vat stated "I am a brain in a vat", it
would always be stating a falsehood. If the brain making this
statement lives in the "...
user2411
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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Would a conscious computer naturally hold a solipsistic philosophy?
We're biologically incapable of ignoring our senses. I want to clarify what I mean by this, because as posters have suggested we actually can do so, for example by blinding or gouging our eyes. I'm ...
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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 ...
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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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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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Does the Denial of the External World Lead to Solipsism?
Denying the external world essentially denies the existence of everyone else. I become only sure of that which I am aware of myself. I thought perhaps Berkeley might have undergone a similar ...
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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....
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Refuting Solipsism
Here is yet another opportunity for philosophy to shine:
Let it refute solipsism.
If the question is going to turn on what solipsism is, there are probably more interesting words to look up in the ...
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Is it necessary/possible to prove that facts exist?
I am having a debate with someone on the internets. He claims that there are no such things as facts absent interpretation. For example, if I see a ball dropping, it's not a fact that a ball is ...
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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 ...
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What (if anything) is wrong with solipsism?
Many people disagree and reject the idea of solipsism. But is there anything to refute the idea that only I exist ? I exist : what rational grounds are there for believing that anyone else does ? ...
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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 ...
user64727
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Has any philosopher ever gone a step beyond solipsism and argued that nothing exists?
I've heard that an example of an absolute certainty, is that there is a reality. i.e. that something exists.
I cannot imagine how one could argue that nothing exists. I know that even solipsists ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Is Solipsism self-defeating?
If only my mind existed it would have to create the concept of time but nothing can be created without time, therefore solipsism is self-defeating. Shouldn't this automatically rule out solipsism?
user34482
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Is there an atheistic idealism that rejects noumena but isn't solipsism?
I know of one answered question on a similar subject, but mine is not quite the same thing.
Berkeley's idealism holds that to be is to be perceived---nothing can exist, or can be thought to exist, ...
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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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Why does the dream argument posit that the senses are untrustworthy when it's the mind that is being tricked?
According to the wiki of the dream argument, "the act of dreaming provides preliminary evidence that the senses we trust to distinguish reality from illusion should not be fully trusted, and therefore,...
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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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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 ...
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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? 😓
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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.
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Does idealism allow other minds?
Wikipedia:
Idealism is the group of metaphysical philosophies that asserts that reality, or reality as humans can know it, is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial.
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bypass for morality, proof of consciousness
Logically morality can stem from thinking that other people are just as living / human as yourself, so you shouldn't do to others what you don't want to be done to you.
But this can be bypassed by ...
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