to what extent is my reality also yours?

Answer 1

The fallacy of equivocation is not as straight forward as positing a kind of dualism in the nature of reality itself, and the relationship between the mind and reality.

Rather, speak of anti-realism about the same objects.

Perhaps first was idealism, because reality was said to be in the mind or a product of ideas.

Berkeleyan idealism is the view, expounded by the Irish empiricist George Berkeley, that objects of perception are ideas in the mind. One might be tempted to say reality is a "mental construct"; however, Berkeley's view of perceptual ideas are created and coordinated by God.

Phenomenalism differs from Berkeleyan idealism in that Berkeley believed that minds or souls, are not merely vessels of ideas nor made up of ideas, taken a step further by Russell, mind itself is a repository of perceptions and composite memories. Therein no mind or soul over and above such mental events.

Finally, social constructionism, with so-called external world is really merely a social, or cultural, artifact, wherein cultural relativism is the view of social issues without absolutes, but at least with cultural artifact.

Alternatively, Non-Dualism approach believes reality is that which never changes nor ceases to exist. According to the Upanishads, no object, no knowledge can be absolutely real if its existence is only temporary. Absolute reality implies permanent existence. Every object of knowledge, external or internal is subject to modification and therefore, “not real”.

Advaita Vedanta denies the ultimate reality of the world of thought and matter. Mind and matter, finite objects and their relations.

Answer 2

There is Jung's theory of the collective unconscious and that we at a point connect on an unconscious level. But, as for the extent of our reality and how we see it can be very different. We each have our own mind and our own reality. We can communicate this reality in words of sorts and our thoughts of what we see can be similar. But, we can't necessarily know what the other is truly seeing as our own reality nor can it be exactly the same as anyone elses. Also, I don't believe it can ever be the same, especially since we are all built, educated or raised differently. Our perceptions of the world are our own and no one elses. What we see to be true can be distorted in so many ways from what we have been taught or conditioned to think. When you come to think of it, even your closest friend or relative have their own thoughts and their own reality because they have their own psychological, intellectual and spiritual context to what life is. So, our reality can be similar but only our own in the end.

Answer 3

Disagreeing on aspects of what is commonly perceived is not the same as having different realities. In fact, without having a shared reality how can a difference of opinion on that reality come about? There is a large degree of shared reality among us and the differences only arise when it comes to individual sense perceptions and mental activities. If I am in pain, I know the pain I feel, but you do not. If I am enjoying a sunset that you cannot see, then my pleasure is unknown to you. But we share in the same reality in that we both know pain and the pleasures of a sunset. This points out that there is an individual person within each body that knows the pains and pleasures of that body and cannot know the pains and pleasures of others' bodies. This may seem elementary, but actually it is the beginning of self-realization, ie, understanding our eternal, spiritual nature. The person within the body perceiving the pains and pleasures has consciousness of his own experiences that no one else can know. When the consciousness is purified of all material contamination then spiritual perception becomes possible and we are then able to know our spiritual nature.

Answer 4

To the extent that our realities overlap and/or to the extent that I buy into and accept your reality, most likely influenced by the amount of similarity in our life experiences.

Answer 5

Not as much as one might think. If we both witness a car accident, that simple fact will be shared in both of our realities. However, my opinion of the car wreck -- who may be at fault, how badly people were hurt, how I responded could very well be drastically different from yours. Simple facts are shared reality, interpretation of them is where we separate from one another.

Answer 6

Only to the extent that I am conscious of you posing a question, and you are conscious of me responding...