Non-existence

[LukeMC]

There is no evidence that the world exists as a solid or permanent plane. We may be no more that an advanced computer programme or an elaborate dream-or something else entirely. There is simply no evidence to suggest that the universe we inhabit is in any way the 'real' or original world. In other worlds, without evidence of the existence of any substantial world-form we must conclude that the world may indeed be an illusion.

Ah, solipsism, my old friend. So we meet again.

When I think, I tend to feel more like I'm experiencing these thoughts than not. For me, that is the basis of everything. "I think, therefore I am", in whatever form I may take. From here, I can either conclude that the outside world is real or that the outside world is not real. However, even if it is an illusion, it is still real in the sense that I am experiencing it and it is there in some form or another. Perhaps it would be more fitting to say that my experience of this universe is real. Now I am left with a decision. Is this universe real in a final, objective sense, making me an agent of this universe like everybody else, or is this universe a figment of imagination, a computer simulation, a dream? I just use Occam's razor to deduce a null hypothesis. Lets stick with what seems to work for the time being (the universe is all that is) and be prepared to change our perspective in light of new evidence. If such evidence is impossible to come by, sod it. We'll get on just fine.

I don't think Dadga is offering an argument so much as he is offering a thought game. What he says is certainly true. We indeed must conclude that the universe may be an illusion, but not necessarily that it is an illusion. For the time being, I'm an agnostic universist (de facto) but am willing to change my mind if I'm ever given reason to believe something more complex and grand is going on behind the scenes.

I know, I've added nothing new to the table. Blatent dismissal won't be taken to heart.