What is there? (Beginners thread)

[atreestump]

I thought I would attempt to make some simpler threads for members who have little, or no experience in philosophy. 

Beginners and more experienced users may participate, more experienced users could (ideally) guide and direct beginners towards understanding the questions that arise as we go along, but please, keep it short and simple.

The best way to learn is to know when we are doing philosophy.

The question of this thread is simple: What do you think, know or believe to be 'there'? What kinds of 'stuff' are there in the universe, are there only physical things, or is reality made up of both mental and physical things, or is there only mental properties to reality?

These are the very first questions of philosophy that will provide you with: 
[list]
[*]Metaphysics - What ultimately is there, what reality is.
[*]Epistemology - Your theory of knowledge.
[/list]
Philosophy is the use of reason to determine what is true, meaningful and beautiful.

[notathoughtgiven]

What kinds of 'stuff' are there in the universe, are there only physical things, or is reality made up of both mental and physical things, or is there only mental properties to reality?



Only mental properties to reality.  After all it is my mind that gives meaning to what my senses tell it.  Therefore reality is a construction of my mind trying to make sense of the information that it is given.

[atreestump]

So if you didn't exist, everything else in reality would not exist as your mind could not construct it?

[notathoughtgiven]

So if you didn't exist, everything else in reality would not exist as your mind could not construct it?



In the reality that is constructed by my mind then yes that would be the case. 

You talk like there is one reality, which is not the case at all.

[atreestump]

I was working through your claim with what you said. A reality that no longer exists when it is not constructed by mind indicates solipsism, which means only you exist, or at least that is all you can be certain of.

The question was: what is the population of reality? Mental, material or both, or something else?

Can you explain more about these multiple realities? How can you know them?

I don't know anything until you tell me.

[kFoyauextlH]

I can not confirm the existence of any reality or experience except the one claimed or understood to belong to me.

All I see are others who might insist they too are seeing things, though I have no way to verify that they really are seeing anything.

​​​What I see or experience in all careful honesty is them claiming to see things, but I have no access to any of it, nor can I even really know what that means if it were the case.

So at most, or at best, I pretend they are seeing things as I see them somewhat, in a like manner, in order to have conversations with these creatures.

I call them creatures because what I am is completely different seeming than what they appear to be. I appear to be a faceless thing which encompasses all faces that I see, but they appear to insist that their face belongs to them and that they are an individual.

I see them as Whole, bodies with defined form known by the limitations of what they appear to be able to move. As for me though, I seem to be some sort of headless thing on a tower of flesh that I can move around. Totally different sort of thing, until I look into a mirror and see something I appear to be able to move.

When I inform people they might not really exist as I do, they appear to become sad and even belligerent. If they told me that I don't exist, all I could say is at the very least stuff seems to be present as I am a witness to that, I can't know if they know what I mean though, and my suspicions remain perpetual and indestructible.

Unless you or someone else can help me to Know.

[atreestump]

http://www.headless.org/douglas-harding.htm Reminds me of Douglas Harding.

[Socrates]

I think @"notathoughtgiven" is saying we all experience reality differently, which is true, but it is also true that there are things that don't require experience for them to be a part of reality - if a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound? 

What about the body, or the sun, are they mental?

[kFoyauextlH]

There is no data regarding the actuality of a tree falling in the forest or not. What is experienced of a tree falling in a forest is the only data we ever have, whether it is an imaginary tree or one considered more real, what we access is all we have as is. If the tree "really fell" can not be established, but can be agreed upon by people to keep relations smooth, superstitiously, since it can't be determined if the smoothness of relations is due to agreement regarding the tree, behavior, something else, or nothing in particular at all.

[Socrates]

I should rephrase that (was tired when typing) - If nobody is around to hear a tree fall in the woods, does it still make a sound?