The Big Questions of the Universe

[Meganerdbomb]

Not the entire knowledge of the human race, just everything based on perception. And Plato was doing it before the matrix made it cool.

[Scourge of teh Galaxy]

But if (nearly) everyone perceives it, that makes it fact enough.

[NFX]

Several hundred years ago, people were convinced that if you were able to swim, you were a witch. Human perceptions change with things of that nature, though physical properties of an object, such as size, weight, texture, time, can be said to be facts. Colour as well, though people with colour-blindness might screw that theory up a bit.

[Scourge of teh Galaxy]

But that's baseless superstition. there's no proof behind it

[martymidget]

If the general population believes something, even if it isn't actually the truth, that makes it a fact, by what you're saying Scourge.

[Scourge of teh Galaxy]

But beliefs cannot be proven by the senses. My words are jumbled, but something that's perceived by the senses is close to fact

[Pyromaniac605]

Not the entire knowledge of the human race, just everything based on perception.

Care to explain what human knowledge isn't based on perception?

[Meganerdbomb]

Not the entire knowledge of the human race, just everything based on perception.

Care to explain what human knowledge isn't based on perception?

As I said, math. Math is pure logic, which means it is a priori. Everything else, however, requires faith in your own perception, not to mention the perceptions of others who almost certainly do not perceive thing exactly as you do.

[Pyromaniac605]

Not the entire knowledge of the human race, just everything based on perception.

Care to explain what human knowledge isn't based on perception?

As I said, math. Math is pure logic, which means it is a priori. Everything else, however, requires faith in your own perception, not to mention the perceptions of others who almost certainly do not perceive thing exactly as you do.

Sure math is pure logic, but if you can't trust your senses that means you can only use it in your mind without it being subject to mistakes.
Besides, if I were a brain-in-a-vat, I would have no way to know, none at all, and unless I can trust my own perceptions and the perceptions of others I would have no way of knowing anything.

[Meganerdbomb]

Not the entire knowledge of the human race, just everything based on perception.

Care to explain what human knowledge isn't based on perception?

As I said, math. Math is pure logic, which means it is a priori. Everything else, however, requires faith in your own perception, not to mention the perceptions of others who almost certainly do not perceive thing exactly as you do.

Sure math is pure logic, but if you can't trust your senses that means you can only use it in your mind without it being subject to mistakes.
Besides, if I were a brain-in-a-vat, I would have no way to know, none at all, and unless I can trust my own perceptions and the perceptions of others I would have no way of knowing anything.

I'm not saying you're necessarily a brain in a vat. I'm saying that you aren't necessarily seeing the world as it really is, but you have to BELIEVE you are because to do otherwise would be illogical, which means that everything you know is based on FAITH.

[Scourge of teh Galaxy]

You have to believe, and trust your senses. Something you can't see, smell, hear, touch, taste... is it really there? That's where faith comes in. Something you can't perceive with your senses

[Meganerdbomb]

You have to believe, and trust your senses. Something you can't see, smell, hear, touch, taste... is it really there? That's where faith comes in. Something you can't perceive with your senses

But that's the thing! Even something you CAN see, hear touch, or taste may not be real. The senses are easily fooled, and it could all be an illusion, so it's really no less logical to believe in something you can't see than to believe in what you can see.

[Chaosmancer]

You have to believe, and trust your senses. Something you can't see, smell, hear, touch, taste... is it really there? That's where faith comes in. Something you can't perceive with your senses

So believing that there is actually another living breathing human being typing any post other that which belongs to the user is technically faith, to a certain degree. I remember hearing something exactly like this back in primary school, I think it was in the form of 'if you can't see it, does it truly exist? If you are at home how do you know that any of the other people actually exist?' or something like that...no idea why I still remember that.

[Meganerdbomb]

You have to believe, and trust your senses. Something you can't see, smell, hear, touch, taste... is it really there? That's where faith comes in. Something you can't perceive with your senses

So believing that there is actually another living breathing human being typing any post other that which belongs to the user is technically faith, to a certain degree. I remember hearing something exactly like this back in primary school, I think it was in the form of 'if you can't see it, does it truly exist? If you are at home how do you know that any of the other people actually exist?' or something like that...no idea why I still remember that.

How about this? Prove to me that you are your own entity, and not just an alternate personally that I have created for myself.

[NFX]

You have to believe, and trust your senses. Something you can't see, smell, hear, touch, taste... is it really there? That's where faith comes in. Something you can't perceive with your senses

So believing that there is actually another living breathing human being typing any post other that which belongs to the user is technically faith, to a certain degree. I remember hearing something exactly like this back in primary school, I think it was in the form of 'if you can't see it, does it truly exist? If you are at home how do you know that any of the other people actually exist?' or something like that...no idea why I still remember that.

How about this? Prove to me that you are your own entity, and not just an alternate personally that I have created for myself.

If that were the case, then you could either summon a post from him when you desire, or have him disappear when you desire. As this doesn't happen, we can assume that he is his own entity, as if he were one of your alternate personalities, you could choose to disregard his presence and wipe him from existence with sufficient training.

[madman3]

We have reached that dangerous suedo-Schrodinger's Cat point.

[Incredirobotwars]

You have to believe, and trust your senses. Something you can't see, smell, hear, touch, taste... is it really there? That's where faith comes in. Something you can't perceive with your senses

But that's the thing! Even something you CAN see, hear touch, or taste may not be real. The senses are easily fooled, and it could all be an illusion, so it's really no less logical to believe in something you can't see than to believe in what you can see.

But what you can see must be based on something - whether its light reflecting off an object and being recieved through your retinas to be processed by your brain...or whether it's the abuse of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide reacting with your brain to cause it to accidentally process random lightwave patterns as lightwaves that could be those reflecting from an object. Either way, the retinas could be damaged, the brain might not be processing the correct information...it's not down to faith, just the preserving of the mind, not looking directly at the Sun, and the lack of LSD abuse.

[Pyromaniac605]

You have to believe, and trust your senses. Something you can't see, smell, hear, touch, taste... is it really there? That's where faith comes in. Something you can't perceive with your senses

But that's the thing! Even something you CAN see, hear touch, or taste may not be real. The senses are easily fooled, and it could all be an illusion, so it's really no less logical to believe in something you can't see than to believe in what you can see.

This is ridiculous, sure your senses can be fooled from time to time, but the chance that every single one of your senses, and those of other people can all be fooled into experiencing the same thing is so infinitesimally small the only logical conclusion is that what is being experienced is real.

[Meganerdbomb]

You have to believe, and trust your senses. Something you can't see, smell, hear, touch, taste... is it really there? That's where faith comes in. Something you can't perceive with your senses

But that's the thing! Even something you CAN see, hear touch, or taste may not be real. The senses are easily fooled, and it could all be an illusion, so it's really no less logical to believe in something you can't see than to believe in what you can see.

This is ridiculous, sure your senses can be fooled from time to time, but the chance that every single one of your senses, and those of other people can all be fooled into experiencing the same thing is so infinitesimally small the only logical conclusion is that what is being experienced is real.

It's real to us, perhaps, but it may not be real in the absolute sense.

[Enigm@]

You have to believe, and trust your senses. Something you can't see, smell, hear, touch, taste... is it really there? That's where faith comes in. Something you can't perceive with your senses

But that's the thing! Even something you CAN see, hear touch, or taste may not be real. The senses are easily fooled, and it could all be an illusion, so it's really no less logical to believe in something you can't see than to believe in what you can see.

This is ridiculous, sure your senses can be fooled from time to time, but the chance that every single one of your senses, and those of other people can all be fooled into experiencing the same thing is so infinitesimally small the only logical conclusion is that what is being experienced is real.

It's real to us, perhaps, but it may not be real in the absolute sense.

i don't think you're real. i'm ameganerdbombtheist