A Conversation for Solipsism

What's the opposite of Solipsism?

Post 1

Gone again

I think that solipsism is nothing more or less than an illustration of the stupidity of the objective perspective. For me, solipsism has no merits other than that it makes a nonsense of objectivity:

Solipsism *cannot* be refuted if you adopt an objective mindset. [It can't be proved either...] But it can be exposed as being rather silly if you adopt a more rational perspective, as we all do in our daily lives... Solipsism isn't the problem: it *illustrates* the problem, which is objectivity. Objectivity and humans don't mix. smiley - winkeye

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

P.S. Nice entry, Lucinda! smiley - biggrin How did you get it past the editors, given their requirement that all entries should be factual? smiley - biggrin


What's the opposite of Solipsism?

Post 2

Martin Harper

Bah!

> "Solipsism *cannot* be refuted if you adopt an objective mindset."

Is that a truth? Is it true for everyone, or is it just true for you? smiley - tongueout


What's the opposite of Solipsism?

Post 3

Martin Harper

Well, I was worried that they'd reject it because I didn't exist, and therefore couldn't be writing an entry. Some idiot sub-ed rejected my entry on circular reasoning because it wasn't very good. Sie said you could tell it was no good because sie rejected it. Which just goes to show what I've always thought - certain sub-eds have an over-inflated sense of their own importance...

(smiley - tongueout to any sub-eds reading this... smiley - winkeye)


What's the opposite of Solipsism?

Post 4

Gone again

>> "Solipsism *cannot* be refuted if
>> you adopt an objective mindset."
> Is that a truth? Is it true for everyone,
> or is it just true for you?

Well *I* think it's generally true, but you must judge for yourself: smiley - smiley

AIUI, a refutation compatible with an objective mindset would have to prove *with certainty* that solipsism is in some way false. I can conceive of nothing that could convince me *with certainty* that the universe *isn't* a figment of my imagination. I don't believe it *is*, but that's not proof.

That stuff about glitches in reality being a give-away doesn't wash with me, I'm afraid. smiley - winkeye Have you ever tried to catch yourself in a dream, say by trying to actually *read* the book you're dream-reading? It doesn't work - not for me, anyway. Somehow the dream retains its coherence, at least for the dreamer, for the duration of the dream.

In the same way, I expect my vision of a universe would retain *apparent* coherence. I was going to say "for me, at least", but in this scenario there's *only* me. That's rather the point, isn't it? smiley - biggrin

And then there's the minor matter of the many philosophers who've attempted to debunk solipsism through the ages, and failed miserably... smiley - smiley That's not proof either, but at least it tells us that solipsism is a tough nut to crack. For the objectivist, that is.

I'll end by saying that I don't defend the objective viewpoint, for reasons I've already made quite clear. In fact, I'd like to observe that its excessive standards of proof (i.e. certainty) seem to be its downfall in this case.

Common sense and intuition (whatever they are! smiley - smiley) lead me to believe that solipsism is silly, and I think most people agree...? But you can't (objectively) prove it.

Convinced?

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"


What's the opposite of Solipsism?

Post 5

Noggin the Nog

What do you MEAN when you say something exists?

And if my consciousness is all there is there can't be ANYTHING going on that I don't explicitly know about - including how I go about conjuring the whole phantasmagoria into existence!
Sage


What's the opposite of Solipsism?

Post 6

Martin Harper

Who has perfect self-knowledge?


What's the opposite of Solipsism?

Post 7

Noggin the Nog

Precisely!
Sage


What's the opposite of Solipsism?

Post 8

ShadeTheif

Is there any way in the theory of Solipsism for a Solipsist to *prove* to themselves that they are right?

And on the other side, can someone who follows the objective viewpoint use their theory to *prove* in the theory of objectivity that Solipsism is wrong.... smiley - biggrin


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