My philosophical ideas, if anyone's interested. :)
Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 10:36 am
Hey, all. Just thought I would post some of my ideas on philosophy. Many of the most intelligent people I know arte on this forum, so I thought some of you might be interested in expanding your thoughts. I don't expect any of you to believe any of this, I just thought you might enjoy reading it.
A Look into the Nature of the Universe (or "Ignorance is Bliss"), By Lachlan "Lachimax" Marnoch
Reality – the universe as we see it is nothing more than a web of perception, or even lies, if you will. Nothing we see – a chair, a bottle – actually exists as a singular object, except in our minds, from the point of view we take upon. All that really exists are the atoms themselves, and the subatomic particles that depend upon them. A chair only exists as a collection of certain types of atoms, loosely bound together. Even ‘collection’ is a human perception. Really, even we ourselves do not exist. Our minds are only collections of electric impulses, which give us an illusory semblance of self-awareness. For we are aware of nothing but our own, mistaken, impressions and perceptions. The truth as I see it is that none of a human’s concerns matter at all, except to us. Nothing we see is real: therefore it does not matter in the slightest. The universe is too large (again, only a human perception of size) for anything that may happen on this planet, solar system, or even galaxy, to be of any real consequence. And even if the entire universe were to be destroyed, there would be no-one to care except for the animals of this planet (unless there is similar life on other worlds with similar perceptions. Even then, they would be of little consequence, no matter how powerful they would be). The things we care about do not matter to anything but ourselves. But do not mistake me: I do not mean that the human race should give up and allow itself to die. I shall get to this point later on.
Perception is also responsible for ideas such as good and evil. In a world where nothing physical exists, except for the very basic building blocks, can evil or good exist? No, I believe that such things, again, only exist in our minds. Good, evil, beauty, all are human perceptions which affect nothing directly, except through human manipulation based on illusion. Life itself is an illusion, a perception, created by our minds, seeming so vibrant and beautiful to our senses, but all are part of the human idea of reality, which is fundamentally wrong.
But is that truly for me to say, who has just preached the idea that perception is a lie? Could this idea not simply be yet another incorrect human perception? I am, after all, human.
Someone once said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That is the concept I have just expanded on, but I am extending this idea: Not only am I saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but that all beholders are seeing a lie. I also believe that all meaning and purpose is false, that there is none but what we humans create for ourselves.
But that does not make that meaning any less important to us. The wrongness of our perception does not make it any less important to us. And this is the key point: We may be entirely mistaken in our view of the world, but we are happy in our wrongness. And that makes it perfectly alright. The truth does not necessarily lead to happiness. If we are comfortable in our illusions, then let them remain.
Another of my philosophical ideas is that there is no real choice. That everything happens as a result of what has gone before, and that there is no other possibility, no potential of it happening otherwise. After all, physics are the basis of everything, and if precisely the same circumstances are emulated twice on an atomic level, the particles will behave in precisely the same way both times.
This concept, which I call the Illusion of Choice, extends to living things as well, meaning that the way we behave, as much as it may seem like we are choosing to do so, is predetermined by the circumstances of the universe, has been ever since its creation. Once again, do not mistake me: I am not implying that we are being constantly directed by some ‘higher being’. Under this theory, even if such a being did exist, it would have no choice in the direction.
Allow me to exemplify: If you ‘decide’ to pick up a glass of water, what causes this? Electrical impulses within your brain, of course, caused by multitudes of neurons and nerves. But is there really any possibility that this particular electrical impulse would not have been created, that you would never have even thought about the glass of water standing on the table beside you? My theory states that those neurons, since the dawn of time, were always going to fire off that impulse, and you actually never had any choice in the matter. Again, to you it may seem that it was your decision to lift the glass to your lips, but this is just another illusion, a perception. And those neurons always had to create that illusion. I would say, ‘regardless of anything else,’ but that is not true either. For this hypothesis relies on the idea that every happening affects every other happening in some shape or form. It expands on that, however, saying that these happenings could never have happened any other way. Everything, according to my ideas, happens one way, and could not have occurred in any other fashion. Something happens, something else reacts to this happening: and that is the only possibility there ever was. So if you flip a coin, it was always going to land on the side that it does so on. Ironically, that means that I have no choice but to be thinking of these things and typing them up.
Religiously and spiritually speaking, these ideas are of no real consequence. After all, everyone will continue living their lives under the impression that they are choosing to do so. And I have no problem with that: ignorance is bliss, as they say. After all, these theories may not even be correct. If they can be proven beyond all doubt, however, which I do not see any way they could possibly be, not only will they blow away the idea of alternate universes, such basic concepts as luck and chance, and many others, will be totally defunct. Not only that, but fiction will have no premise, as how can something happen that is merely a possibility, when possibilities do not exist? As an enthusiastic reader and writer of fiction, I have no wish for this to happen. But of course humanity will go on imagining things that never were and will never be regardless of what strange ideas exist inside the mind of an eccentric fifteen-year-old boy.
Humanity has no choice in the matter.
My ideas of philosophy are not the sort you would for a religion, church, or even cult around. For if I were to attempt to ram these ideas down humanity’s throat, or worse, succeed, all vestiges of hope, belief, and self-esteem would disappear from those who understood these theories and did not comprehend the concept of self-importance which I have explained. Of course, I believe these things, and I do not despair, quite the contrary: I am happy to understand and still be able to live my life. But I think I am the exception. As I have so often seen, when bereft of belief in some spiritual value, humans often resort to despair and depression. Others may not be able to believe what is written here and still live happily. And I have a great belief that humanity must continue to be happy with itself, no matter what illusions or fantasies it is under, even if the happiness has no bearing on the universe. For it is important to us as a species, and that is all that matters.
As I have said before, ignorance is bliss.
A Look into the Nature of the Universe (or "Ignorance is Bliss"), By Lachlan "Lachimax" Marnoch
Reality – the universe as we see it is nothing more than a web of perception, or even lies, if you will. Nothing we see – a chair, a bottle – actually exists as a singular object, except in our minds, from the point of view we take upon. All that really exists are the atoms themselves, and the subatomic particles that depend upon them. A chair only exists as a collection of certain types of atoms, loosely bound together. Even ‘collection’ is a human perception. Really, even we ourselves do not exist. Our minds are only collections of electric impulses, which give us an illusory semblance of self-awareness. For we are aware of nothing but our own, mistaken, impressions and perceptions. The truth as I see it is that none of a human’s concerns matter at all, except to us. Nothing we see is real: therefore it does not matter in the slightest. The universe is too large (again, only a human perception of size) for anything that may happen on this planet, solar system, or even galaxy, to be of any real consequence. And even if the entire universe were to be destroyed, there would be no-one to care except for the animals of this planet (unless there is similar life on other worlds with similar perceptions. Even then, they would be of little consequence, no matter how powerful they would be). The things we care about do not matter to anything but ourselves. But do not mistake me: I do not mean that the human race should give up and allow itself to die. I shall get to this point later on.
Perception is also responsible for ideas such as good and evil. In a world where nothing physical exists, except for the very basic building blocks, can evil or good exist? No, I believe that such things, again, only exist in our minds. Good, evil, beauty, all are human perceptions which affect nothing directly, except through human manipulation based on illusion. Life itself is an illusion, a perception, created by our minds, seeming so vibrant and beautiful to our senses, but all are part of the human idea of reality, which is fundamentally wrong.
But is that truly for me to say, who has just preached the idea that perception is a lie? Could this idea not simply be yet another incorrect human perception? I am, after all, human.
Someone once said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That is the concept I have just expanded on, but I am extending this idea: Not only am I saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but that all beholders are seeing a lie. I also believe that all meaning and purpose is false, that there is none but what we humans create for ourselves.
But that does not make that meaning any less important to us. The wrongness of our perception does not make it any less important to us. And this is the key point: We may be entirely mistaken in our view of the world, but we are happy in our wrongness. And that makes it perfectly alright. The truth does not necessarily lead to happiness. If we are comfortable in our illusions, then let them remain.
Another of my philosophical ideas is that there is no real choice. That everything happens as a result of what has gone before, and that there is no other possibility, no potential of it happening otherwise. After all, physics are the basis of everything, and if precisely the same circumstances are emulated twice on an atomic level, the particles will behave in precisely the same way both times.
This concept, which I call the Illusion of Choice, extends to living things as well, meaning that the way we behave, as much as it may seem like we are choosing to do so, is predetermined by the circumstances of the universe, has been ever since its creation. Once again, do not mistake me: I am not implying that we are being constantly directed by some ‘higher being’. Under this theory, even if such a being did exist, it would have no choice in the direction.
Allow me to exemplify: If you ‘decide’ to pick up a glass of water, what causes this? Electrical impulses within your brain, of course, caused by multitudes of neurons and nerves. But is there really any possibility that this particular electrical impulse would not have been created, that you would never have even thought about the glass of water standing on the table beside you? My theory states that those neurons, since the dawn of time, were always going to fire off that impulse, and you actually never had any choice in the matter. Again, to you it may seem that it was your decision to lift the glass to your lips, but this is just another illusion, a perception. And those neurons always had to create that illusion. I would say, ‘regardless of anything else,’ but that is not true either. For this hypothesis relies on the idea that every happening affects every other happening in some shape or form. It expands on that, however, saying that these happenings could never have happened any other way. Everything, according to my ideas, happens one way, and could not have occurred in any other fashion. Something happens, something else reacts to this happening: and that is the only possibility there ever was. So if you flip a coin, it was always going to land on the side that it does so on. Ironically, that means that I have no choice but to be thinking of these things and typing them up.
Religiously and spiritually speaking, these ideas are of no real consequence. After all, everyone will continue living their lives under the impression that they are choosing to do so. And I have no problem with that: ignorance is bliss, as they say. After all, these theories may not even be correct. If they can be proven beyond all doubt, however, which I do not see any way they could possibly be, not only will they blow away the idea of alternate universes, such basic concepts as luck and chance, and many others, will be totally defunct. Not only that, but fiction will have no premise, as how can something happen that is merely a possibility, when possibilities do not exist? As an enthusiastic reader and writer of fiction, I have no wish for this to happen. But of course humanity will go on imagining things that never were and will never be regardless of what strange ideas exist inside the mind of an eccentric fifteen-year-old boy.
Humanity has no choice in the matter.
My ideas of philosophy are not the sort you would for a religion, church, or even cult around. For if I were to attempt to ram these ideas down humanity’s throat, or worse, succeed, all vestiges of hope, belief, and self-esteem would disappear from those who understood these theories and did not comprehend the concept of self-importance which I have explained. Of course, I believe these things, and I do not despair, quite the contrary: I am happy to understand and still be able to live my life. But I think I am the exception. As I have so often seen, when bereft of belief in some spiritual value, humans often resort to despair and depression. Others may not be able to believe what is written here and still live happily. And I have a great belief that humanity must continue to be happy with itself, no matter what illusions or fantasies it is under, even if the happiness has no bearing on the universe. For it is important to us as a species, and that is all that matters.
As I have said before, ignorance is bliss.
Something I'm not sure about is the way you make it sound like the former implies the latter, which isn't true. But maybe it's just my impression.