RE: The Question of Why
December 21, 2011 at 4:45 am
(This post was last modified: December 21, 2011 at 5:00 am by Jackalope.)
(December 21, 2011 at 3:06 am)genkaus Wrote: I'm not a big fan of terms like "in my view/opinion". Facts of reality are independent of anyone's views or opinions. So, if you are stating a fact of reality with the preface "in my opinion", either you are saying that facts are subject to your opinion (which would be wrong) or that what you are stating isn't necessarily a fact of reality. While it is fine as a precautionary measure to hedge yourself against your own mistakes, it comes off as a bit cowardly for not having the strength to stand by your judgment and it grants an opportunity to opposing viewpoints to claim validity where there should have been none.
There's at least one other option: I'm leaving myself and out to avoid a debate on the topic. Were I interested in debating it, I certainly would have taken a stronger position. However, I'm not a fan of mental masturbation and while the subject of the difference between subjective and objective reality is interesting, I'm not interested in getting in over my head. I know better than to get involved in a debate on a topic I'm not very well versed in with someone who's a far better debater than I.
So yeah, call it cowardice if you like.
(December 21, 2011 at 3:06 am)genkaus Wrote: As far as perception goes, I think the term "perception of reality" is redundant. To perceive is to become aware of "something", that is something that is there. To perceive something that is not there is a contradiction in terms. If you do seem to be perceiving something that is not there, then you are not actually perceiving, you are projecting. These projections can and do affect our models of reality.
Let me give you one example where perception and reality are not in alignment.
Consider a brick of solid lead, or other dense material. Our perception tells us it IS a solid brick - yet reason tells us that it is not quite so, it is actually substantially composed of empty space that we can't directly observe, yet nonetheless exists according to our theoretical models of atomic structure.
Reason and observation lead us to identify models of reality that work well enough for practical purposes, but aren't provable to absolute certainty.
