Is Reality Predicated on Perception?(New theory proposes that nothing exists unless we observe it)

Pajamas Media ^ | 7/9/2009 | Mike LaSalle

[TopQuark]

Unsurprisingly, this revolutionary "theory" is presented at the level of a good undergraduate.

[stargirl]

That would imply that our subconscious minds are somehow inter-related and so therefore, you unconsciously were aware of you being robbed

[Revolting cat!]

I don’t exist (or will soon.)

[right way right]

How do we know if SeekAndFind is not a dog if we cannot see him? HMMMMMM........?

[wolfman]

I’m going to pretend I never observed this thread.

[Krankor]

No, it really is true. If you look behind you real fast, for a split second, there won’t be anything there. Try it.

[right way right]

Hopefully you will get that time back.

[Billthedrill]

Yep. Nothing new at all. I think Descartes got there a little earlier but it's debatable either way. The difficulty with the position is that it does not allow for the existence of anything prior to perception, i.e. the rock you're about to trip over running through a field. While one may construct a logical system in which it does not exist prior to you stubbing your toe on it I'm afraid I find that a very strained explanation of reality. My toe wishes it were so. We do not perceive the microorganisms that make us sick, we perceive the sickness once they're established. Do they not exist prior to that observation, or are we merely incapable of observing? Either case fits, but only one of them explains the flu.

It won't do. A universe in which the wave function collapses upon observation does not care whose observation - presumably Shroedinger's Cat, being a sentient creature, knows whether it is alive or dead in the box quite apart from the fellow looking at the box and guessing. The alternative is a different universe for every observer, limited to his sphere of perception and contingent upon the act. Again, it's a workable model as far as it goes but it strikes me as rather arid and limited in application. We not only conceive of the universe as something out there apart from us, the observer, we behave as if it were true as well. So does every animal sentient enough to do so. That is no proof, it is a datum, but it may not be quite as easy to dismiss as the theorists would like to believe.

[Billthedrill]

it’s fair to point out that Dr. Lanza’s credentials are impeccable. U.S. News & World Report has called him a “renegade thinker” and a “genius.” He’s been interviewed by Discover magazine and has been widely published in prestigious scientific and medical journals. President Jimmy Carter wrote the forward to his book...

Oh, and by the way, U.S. News & World Report, Discover magazine, and God help us, Jimmy Carter, are not "credentials", they are the cheapest imaginable PR. If only Galileo had this guy's agent he might have been somebody.

[Revolting cat!]

I was once long ago in a forest (true story), where I was exploring a shallow cave. While inside the cave, I was hidden from the forest, you might say. There was no one else there, as far as I could tell. A tree fell, not far from the cave, and I was able to observe it falling. It made no noise!

[TigersEye]

That’s not exactly a new theory. It is more or less Buddhist cosmology. Everything is created by mind.

[SeekAndFind]

WOW, a thread almost 2 years old and we get a response only today!

But thanks, yes, I’ve actually spoken to practitioners of some aspect of Zen Buddhism who actually believe this. So, the idea predates Star Treck and modern physics by thousands of years.

[TigersEye]

LOL Not only is the thread two years old but I posted on it back then. I must have observed a time loop and ~presto!~ here I was on this thread again.

FWIW I'm a Tibetan Buddhist and it is a correct view to say that mind creates everything moment by moment. It's complicated though. If I said 'my mind' is creating this that wouldn't really be correct. But I don't think it would be correct to say that 'my' mind has no part in it either. Mind is also a created illusion of samsara.