A reply to “How do I know my existence is real?”

By:

Dillon Wheeler

I wrote this reply in the “heat of the moment” and I don’t necessarily agree or disagree with anything I have written here, it is merely an immediate “gut” reaction to Matt’s blog entry. So bare with me. I thought to post it because well, it’s a blog I use to post my thoughts at the moment, right or wrong, true or untrue, it does not matter. I like it for the ability to go back and reflect upon my thinking. So take this reply for what you will. If you like it great, if not, oh well.

- Dillon Wheeler

There seems to me to be a parallel between your experiences and mine, which i wrote in “Scientific Philosophy: Time” such that I could not differentiate moments in time, and

you can not differentiate between consciousness and unconsciousness.

You say your perception of reality of reali

ty is no longer valid. Very interesting. I think the question here is not “Am I awake or am I sleeping?” but rather “Does extreme fatigue blur the lines between consciousness and unconsciousness?”

Let’s take a look at this question.

Does extreme fatigue blur the lines between consciousness and unconsciousness. In order to make a determination, we must first experiment. The hardest part is over as you have done so.

Now, as you had previously mentioned, you had consumed two energy drinks, for your class to which they had no effect until much later. Now, you claim you were awake until the morning, but you can not be sure. So let’s examine this.

“One might pose the possibility that I am currently asleep.” - I will assume that you mean you, yourself might pose the possibility, as if you are asleep, everyone else is a figment of your mind. Conceived by your mind alone.

“Maybe my reality is merely a dream my subconscious has created to mask the fact that I have not maintained consciousness.” - If this were true, my reply would be something your mind would have conceived, not truly MY words. Now while this may true, the old adage, “I think, therefore I am.” instinctively comes to my mind, for this case anyways. Very poor argument, but all I can think of lol.

“What indication in my current state proves my existence?” - Well by the simple fact that if you are dreaming, you would exist, somewhere.

“My senses cannot be trusted” - True, they can not, but by what sense?

“I can ask the person beside me b

ut their answer may be simple a projection of my subconscious.” - Again I go to the, “I think, therefore I am.” all the while it is feasible and probable that their answer is a simple projection of your subconscious.

“If all aspects of reality cannot be trusted then what may I use to wake up? I am helpless. Left to wait for my reality to break apart as a dream would, waiting for the believable to become the unbelievable.” - This is a question philosophers have pondered for centuries. We have no way of distinguishing reality and sleep. The deeper question is how do we know either of them are true?

“Once the dreamer awakes, he is able to see the dream for what it is. So then whats to say the dream’s flaws are only realized after the fact?” AND “With this theory, then, my process of waiting for the unbelievable does not apply. I will only realize my reality a dream, after I awa

ke from it.” - How do we know that the dreamer has awoke? Could it not be possible that awaking, is for lack of a better term, “Dreaming”? Perhaps what we think of as reality and consciousness is but merely a place our minds go to “relax”, and that in which we perceive as “dreaming” is our hosts “waking up” and in turn, forces us to dream, not aware of our true conscious.

Conclusion: In the sense of reality, think of it as a universal station for all minds to connect to each other. We don’t know and we can’t know; at present. Therefore, the lines between reality and dreaming have always been blurred, there is no distinction between them. You are neither awake nor asleep, conscious or unconscious as far as we can tell.

Thanks,

Dillon Wheeler