What is reality?

On the most superficial level, it is whatever our brain picks up by the senses.
 
nothing is true. everything is permitted :m027:
 
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i love dreaming over the idea that all of the subjectivities of the world would be able to fully express their unique realities and we could reach some cohesive understanding of what human reality truly is. not sure that it will happen any time soon though!
 
In many instances, reality is that which can be reflected or mirrored. It is that which can be sensed by our senses. In some instances, it is just what it is called; i.e. paranoia, etcetera(there may not be someone following you, but paranoia is still there).

Reality is when a loved one dies and you cannot bring them back no matter how much you try. Reality is cause and effect. It is stepping in chewing gum or dog poo. It is not having enough money to fulfill one's desires(this does happen to people). Reality is being out of ammo.

I also believe reality to one person concerning something specific can be unreal to another. Time is reality. Reality is knowing I have other things to do.
 
I think reality is one's own perspective and understanding of their surroundings. There's also the physical, objective reality in the sense of "this is a rock, this is a cat, this is a cup" but it is often taken for granted, and our own psychological realities take over.

I find it hardest to try to explain my own reality (perspective) to another person. I fully understand that my reality is only my opinion, and the other person may think very very differently. Although what I find is that often I sense that the other person does not understand how subjective "reality" is. They hold tight to their own reality as the absolute truth. This is what can get frustrating. I realized that most conflict results from not understanding how subjective reality is.
 
Matter and Energy. Atoms. Planets. Black holes. Molecules. Stars. Planets. Chemical reactions. Magnetism. Gravity.

Everything else is subjective meaning superimposed by our meaning-seeking minds. Even what we call "life" is a subjective categorization of an extremely complex chemical reaction in a way that has meaning to us.

Very little of what we humans focus on or care about is reality.

Now, if you ask me what seems real to human beings, that would be a different list:

1. Cultural values.
2. Anything perceived by the senses.
3. Logic.
4. Religion (for some)
5. Emotion.
6. History.
7. Choice.
8. Justice.
 
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Reality is downloading ugly things into your computer like viruses, trojans, and worms when one really wants to trust people.
 
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Reality is the shared experience of all living things.

Apparent differences are due to the lens we choose to perceive reality with. One cannot see reality without a lens, but each lens is flawed and obstructs a part of reality.

Reality is objectivity, and it can only be known through subjectivity.
 
KazeCraven said:
Reality is the shared experience of all living things.

Apparent differences are due to the lens we choose to perceive reality with. One cannot see reality without a lens, but each lens is flawed and obstructs a part of reality.

Reality is objectivity, and it can only be known through subjectivity.
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I agree with that one. I once said something similar. I was just looking at it from a different perspective when I wrote what I did.
 
A strange kind of TV show, that I tend to say away from, yet others are addicted to.
 
basic said:
What is reality?
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I define reality as an interaction of existence and experience.

Existence being a realm of physical laws, energy, matter, and whatever else.

Experience being our consciousness / perspective within existence.

I consider the consciousness an equal partner in this relationship, not a subset of existence. The reason is that without a perspective, there is no reality nor existence to be had.

This means that what is real differs depending on each consciousness. I define consciousness somewhat loosely; it's basically anything with a perspective, so you might even argue a plant fits this.

I came to this conclusion after considering a person's life where they believed something that is scientifically not true. Let's say they lived 1,000 years ago, and they went through their whole life believing the world is flat. Now in that person's reality, they died believing this, so for that person the Earth was certainly flat. How can I say that my perspective is any more real than theirs? Sure, I have science to back me up, which is objective. However, science is really just us trying to determine the nature of existence through our personal perspectives. It wont change what that person believed 200 years ago. We can say he was wrong, but that doesn't change his perspective.

And yes, in many ways this is a load of garbage, but I prefer to see things as they are rather than how they should be. Most here would probably argue that reality = existence (using my terminology.) That's a fair argument, but like I said, without perspective there is nothing.

Imagine a universe full of asteroids and dust, with no life, nor any prospect of life in the past or future. It exists in a closed system, that nothing can ever breach. I would argue this universe is not real because there is no perspective to perceive it. It is an existence without reality because reality requires perception.
 
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