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Is the World an Illusion?
Philosophy Posted by Pennywise on Wednesday January 21, @11:19PM
from the seeing-through-the-cat dept.
Last Sunday, Australia's ABC Radio aired a program that asks the listener to suspend reality and ask themselves for a moment, "Is the visual world a grand illusion?" Complete with quotes from Alice in Wonderland, the show ponders the problems of consciousness, qualia and a point/counter-point on visual perception between Alva Noe and Gerard O'Brien. A transcript of the program is conveniently located here Or listen to the program here (RealAudio).

Natasha Mitchell: Now don’t be unsettled by this but opening our eyes poses a huge philosophical problem. It goes something like this, as with Alice, could all of us be living in a Wonderland of sorts? When we peer out into the world is all that we see potentially a confabulation – a grand visual illusion staged by our brain?
To the world’s leading philosophers and cognitive scientists these are very serious and very current questions and they go to the heart of the age-old problem of human consciousness.
At least 50% of the outer layer of the brain – the neocortex- appears to be directly involved in vision so this suggests to most that the brain plays a big role. But how does it account for what it feels like to see, the whole conscious experience of vision? And though we like to think that our visual experience is rich, continuous and connected, are we actually in direct contact with the world when we see? Does the brain directly translate everything into it’s own special neuronal language? Or is it corrupted on the way?


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    The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them.
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    Over 10 comments listed. Printing out index only.
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by jonturner on Thursday January 22, @08:28AM
    Wow, that's a tough question; one over which the greatest minds have struggled throughout history!

    Not surprisingly, the Question of Reality is one of the core "problems" of Philosophy/metaphysics, along with the Question of Truth and of Certainty. So how can one know what is real; whether what is perceived is actual or simply a construct of one's mind? This was famously answered, of course, by "I think, therefore I am" (Descartes), the riddle of Schrodengers Cat, and considered in a roundabout way in pop-culture by the film The Matrix. You exist, because you are *aware* that you exist, and reality exists because it is observed. You may be certain of nothing, other than that you exist. Everything else is taken on faith with varying degrees of certainty.

    I don't think it's possible to know, in an absolute sense, what the "correct" interpretation of the physical world is. After all, when I perceive the color blue, is it the same as everyone else's perception? Same goes for the taste of particular foods, or a sound. (Could that explain individual preferences?) [side note: Those who have had their hearing restored with cochlear implants report hearing familiar sounds "differently" than before. Which perception is "correct"?] Our perceptions are particular and integral to our Self. IOW, dependent on who we are -- there is no universal truth other than that available through mathmatics and the derivitave sciences which is why math is so important, powerful, and beautiful. It allows for a system of modeling and interpretation of the world in a way that is neutral of interpretation (the neuronal 'metadata') and provides absolutes.
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by CriX on Thursday January 22, @11:59AM

    I dare anyone to stand in the middle of the highway with a Mack Truck barreling down on them and pose the question, "Is this truck?" You will soon find that it very much IS.

    Sorry, that was pretty morbid... but these questions tend to annoy me.
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by shamanhealer975 on Wednesday April 14, @09:26PM
    Ofcourse this world is an illusion....We've grown our entire life thinking it is real, feeling the sense of truth, that THIS is infact real. Why??? Why do we think that??? Cause it has been that way our entire life....we have become comfortably numb. Everyone worries about how they look and what they wear. We watch mtv all day wasting this thing called life. No one believes no more. We have all become clones, zombies, robots. We have been programmed to not look outside the box. YES! this world is an illusion! One who does not believe that isnt ready for it yet...isnt ready to except the truth. So, yes we are in a dream.....now how do we escape it?? How do we know when we are REAL??? There are many different ways to escape....YOU are the one who has to choose.....Meditation??? Spirituality?? Death??? NO matter what u choose there is a way....believe....faith.....one way or another you will one day FREE YOUR MIND. Instant Message me on AOL to learn more and free yourself....Shamanhealer975.
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by Rdavis on Thursday April 28, @11:08AM
    This is indeed a grand question. My College philosophy professor called this line of reasoning "substance abuse." The problem is not the ONTOLOGICAL STATUS OF THE EXTERNAL WORLD but that we doubted its existence in the first place. It never occured to Plato or Aristotle that we may not exist in an extended world. I like to take the view of the classical skeptic. Yes the world exists pretty much as we see it. It is foolhearty to question something so obvious. We should spend our time doubting the non-obvious. This topic does keep us supplied with interesting subject matter. Descartes should not have been so lucid in speech.
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by Doug on Wednesday May 18, @01:14PM
    A great question which has been asked once man could talk. Is the world real? Well, it is if we want it to be. If we get hit with something then we will feel it because we "know" that it hit us. But lets say we didnt think it hit us. Would it really hurt. I suggest u dont try it because you will be thinking about it and in the back of your mind you will be thinking it. My point is the world is real if we want it to be. And i beleive that if we really beleive it aint real we will be separated from the "world" and go somewhere else. Now where we go is a whole different question.
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by Mahesh Kini M on Friday October 14, @01:43AM
    Yes, indeed world is a illusion. No doubt. But as long as our sense organs and outward mind is active this world exists. Sense organ depends on mind and mind on innerself These theories have been explained well in Hidhu scriptures Upanisads(which expalin about three states of mind or man and the ture fourth state).
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by Djuana on Tuesday November 22, @09:28PM
    Yes the world is but a dream we repeat over and over again, thats why we feel we know someone or have the feeling of being at a place before, deja vu. To escape, so to speak we need to FORGIVE, well it's easier said than done. If and when we forgive we find peace inside, people's actions, remarks do not bother us, and we do not conform to the world. We do not judge, but forgive. Read the book "The disappearance of the Universe" by Gary Renard. An amazing eye opening book. I agree that those who do not believe it are not ready, and thats o.k. no one is better we are really all ONE and equal.
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by jdh on Friday December 09, @07:50AM
    I agree. Forgiveness is the key to transcending the illusion my brother (0:
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by who gives a shit on Monday May 08, @09:39AM
    I think entertainment is a way we can see the truth, there are mirrors and smoke screens in our life to show us different. Have a look at the root meaning of these movies Brain scan-(kid from terminator 2) eXistenZe- (jude law) 13th floor- Total recall (Arnold Swartz) Vanilla sky- (Tom) butterfly effect- Matrix- these are a few of many. Reality is what you want it to be.
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by RealityCheck on Saturday June 24, @09:55AM
    The Buddha a long time ago decided that the issue was not so much that the world was an illusion but that we assume that WE are not illusions. That creates grasping or attachment to unreal things by an unreal self. That leads to suffering. Perspectives that transcend and include other perspectives are "more real" and "less illusory" than those that trap us in tight physical, emotional, and mental boxes. My suggestion would be: look for the broadest perspectives that still allow you to throw yourself into acts of service to others today.
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by asfdsadfsae on Monday October 23, @12:46AM
    fsadsfsdf fsdfsdfsdf asfsdfsdfsadf fsdsfsdfasdf asfddsfsdfa sfsdfsdfsd sfdsdfasdfsadf asdfsdfsdfsd
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by MysticMind on Monday April 09, @06:04AM
    The world we live in is in fact an illusion. The five senses keeps us believing without a doubt that everything is very real, but its not. Quantum Physics is now proving that what we see is more about perception rather than anything else. Its a real hard concept to fathom, in a way it just can't be so, but it is. Physical matter can completely fall away under the right set of circumstances and some scientists know this, but its not mainstream. Throughtout the ages the wisest of men from all over the world have stated that spirit is the ultimate reality, and the physical world is really grand illusion.
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by Steve Savage "King of the Beasts" on Saturday May 05, @11:15AM
    "THE WORLD ILLUSION"

    God and I alone in space,
    And nobody else in view.
    “And where are the people, O Lord," I said,
    “With the earth beneath and sky overhead,
    “And the dead that I once knew?”

    “That was a dream,” God smiled and said.
    “A dream that was never true.
    “There are no people, living or dead,
    “No earth beneath, and no sky overhead,
    “There are only Myself and You.”

    “And why do I have no fear,” I said,
    “Meeting You here this way?
    “For I have sinned I know full well;
    “And is there Heaven and also Hell?
    “And is this the Judgment Day?”

    “Those are dreams again,” the Great God said.
    “Dreams that have ceased to be.
    “Fear and sin are the product of mind,
    “And you are a ghost that has never been;
    “For there is nothing at all but ME.”

    TO THE PRISONER

    By now you must have realized that you are a Singularity, the paradigm upon which all Eukaryotic Metaphors are imagined and created, a Dimensionless point of Consciousness of Infinite Mass, solitarily confined in Time and Space within the very center of a Great Round Silver-Mirrored Ball. The interior surface of that Ball represents to you all Known Existence. Indeed, you can only recognize that which you know. As you look all about,what you see before you is yourself as you were, as you are, and as you are going to be. You are clothed, so to speak, in the Reflected Enantiomorphic Virtual Image that is created by the 360 degree Concavity of the Ball’s Interior Surface; the perceptual boundary of your consciousness, your Prison Wall, your Cell, as it were. Because this World is your Idea, the World you created; you, and you alone, are responsible for everything in it. You wanted to play God; well, this was your chance. How do you like what you've created so far? Here is the way the Law of Compensation works: If you plant corn, you get corn – a hundred grains for one. What have you planted? Smarten up! Rehabilitate (re-clothe) yourself with Perfection. Forgive and you will be forgiven. See Beauty in all things. Most of all, MOST OF ALL, Love everything with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your might. Cast your bread upon the waters so it will return to you.
    Steve Savage http://sskotb.blogspot.com/
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by eva on Friday June 22, @04:23PM
    When it comes down to things, we are nothing but people just walking around waiting for death.
    [ Reply to this ]
    Re: Is the World an Illusion?
    by govind dixit on Monday July 16, @02:44AM
    yes world is a fraud. a drama. a show.only in realization stage you can feel this.at this point time merge with space.
    [ Reply to this ]
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