Just as the poet questioned whether he was a dreaming man or a dreaming butterfly, how can we know for sure which is the dream and which is not, if our senses cannot be trusted? What does present day physics say about this, or our greatest thinkers and spiritual leaders? What is the best answer to this?
2006-07-11 16:29:45 · 8 answers · asked by Marc 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Well first of all the best answer to this is in this case going to be the one you pick as being the best for you.
As for the uncertainty of which is the dream, I’ve long tried to contemplate the answer to that because I have a way to active imagination when it comes to my dreams at night (see my previous questions) and for me I’ve come to the realization that knowing which is the dreamer and which is dreamed is actually of no importance, it’s the act of having the actual dream that holds any value to what one experiences. In other words (and this can get confusing) if what you experience while awake holds more importance to you at this moment than the experiences you refer to as having partaken in at night are the dream. But when you’re sleeping and experiencing the dream at night it is no longer a dream at all but a temporary version of reality. All things are real. I think the best summery of it can best be referenced to the last song of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
All that you touch
All that you see
All that you taste
All you feel.
All that you love
All that you hate
All you distrust
All you save.
All that you give
All that you deal
All that you buy,
beg, borrow or steal.
All you create
All you destroy
All that you do
All that you say.
All that you eat
And everyone you meet
All that you slight
And everyone you fight.
All that is now
All that is gone
All that's to come
and everything under the sun is in tune
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.
"There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark."
Does that make sense?
As for science explaining reality, you’ll be needing to refer to an experiment called Schrödinger’s cat, which is a thought experiment that basically explains that reality is only real if there is an observer to provide that reality. Otherwise without observation reality would have no meaning because there would be nobody there to experience it. That’s not to say that things wouldn’t happen without something to watch it. It just means that it would have no bearing upon us and therefore no real meaning.
2006-07-11 18:55:25 · answer #1 · answered by Daedalus 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I wanna give you a real, earnest answer about this, but the simplest way I know how to put it is:
Step 1- go pour a big platter of salt in the kitchen and turn on the two front burners of your stove, also call local EMS services and tell them they will be needed at your residence. Step 2- Now, rub a brillo pad, sandpaper or some other type of super abrasive material all over your face. Step 3- Firmly grasp the prepared platter of salt with both hands. Step 4- Put face into platter of salt, rolling head back and forth vigorously coating face evenly with salt (Important: Leave eyes open for full effect). Step 5- Place both hands (palms down and flat) on preignited burners for at least ten seconds. Step 6- Wipe salt off face with hands and wait for EMS, reality will be along shortly.
If you are still reading I know you are probably rather upset or laughing, hopefully laughing. However you take this, I did answer your question in my own odd way. If you (hopefully not) followed these directions, you will not care if this is or is not a dream and your senses can be trusted as they are accurately telling you that you are in excruciating pain. As for the greatest thinkers and spiritual leaders, they may have other opinions but I am fairly certain that they will agree that whether it is or is not real, it will feel like reality and that is all that matters.
2006-07-12 00:50:15 · answer #2 · answered by House 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In order to have the concept of "reality" you need to have the possibility of a dream. To have the possiblity of a dream, you have to have a concept of reality. To suggest that the reality we experience is not real, you would have to show a "meta" reality, to demonstrate why the continuity and consistency of the one we know is all imagination..
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2006-07-12 00:07:39 · answer #3 · answered by hallitubevolunteer1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How would you determine the content of a butterfly's dreams? How would you determine that a butterfly does dream?
2006-07-12 00:52:35 · answer #4 · answered by Doctor J 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look up the "string theory". In a nutshell, that multiple realities of our exsistance is happening at the same moment and that we're only thin degrees from alternate realities. So that bufferfly is somewhere.
2006-07-19 10:39:57 · answer #5 · answered by godar1990 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow, Kung Fu Fan, I wonder if there really is a poem of Guan Ju or whatever his name is. I've watched the Matrix and it tripped me out I'd have to say it's something to think about and I don't know but yeah Gauan or Kwan?
2006-07-12 01:41:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Butterflies don't dream. What are you smoking?
2006-07-11 23:52:24 · answer #7 · answered by rockEsquirrel 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you chase a butterfly it will make you exhausted, but when you sit quietly it will come and sit on your shoulders.
2006-07-12 00:07:42 · answer #8 · answered by Kgs 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋