Do human beings ever have a complete understanding of what is real, and what we must surmise?

Question

Is the human mind capable of grasping the essence of being? Do we know and understand what is substance?

Answer 1

What is real is only what exist in ones own head, if you can step outside of your surroundings and look around you than you may be able to see what is real and grasp the essence of being, but this takes a higher intelligence than that of the average human being.

Answer 2

Our history as a species has been to understand our physical world and fact by hard fact we have learned a great deal. We are now accumulating knowledge at an exponential rate which means within 50 years we know everything... and will be able do anything. The essence of being has been pretty well known since the ancient Greeks but most people don't keep up with the facts.

Answer 3

Mankind does not have a complete understanding of all there is individually.

Very few have a true passion to obtain the effort and work, failures, and new attempts to achieve this. A curious bunch are we humans, however, it is evident that not all humans focus their imagination at the same things. Albert Einstein was a man who focused his imagination toward light and came closer to an understanding that E=MC (squared). Even with this given to us on a silver platter by Mr. Einstein, well, many are challenged to grasp this massive revelation. Similarly, Mr. Einstein could not grasp professions like Accounting; thereby demonstrating that his focus was limited under the circumstances given to him.

I would imagine as a totality of all human kind (past, present, & future) we could surpass the assumptions and concur substance.

Answer 4

First off, lets get this cleared up. Reality and the universe in which we exist are two completely different things. The universe is a finite medium of existence based on a set of rules and principles. A vacuum of space splashed with clusters of matter controlled by forces interacting with one another in the only way they are able. Through the use of physical perceptions every life form interprets this "definite" universe, and constructs its own reality. some of the previous posters have said we simply don't have the intellect to understand our reality, i disagree. i believe every life form with the tinniest hint of a neural network can ponder and ultimately understand its reality, after all "reality" is completely "relative". every ant, cat, bird, dolphin and whatever else have you, knows its place in the world and accepts it. if anything, further intelligence restricts understanding of reality by complicating and questioning it. when a loved one dies do i not feel sad? when i drink wine do i not enjoy its taste? when i feel threatened to i not get afraid, or angry? If i see some hot ***, do i not want it?? is none of this real? this is what i interpret as realty, and i understand it. but it goes further then this. Lets use a typical example, one man may not believe in god while another does. they are both right. each exists in his own reality based on a lifetime of experience and interpretation acting as the (completely relative, and humorously contradicting) justified "knowledge" on which they each base the foundation of there views, concepts, ideas and actions. each will die with the -UNDENIABLE- knowledge that they were correct, and thus there realities will forever have been etched into stone, just as you and i etch ours now. the same principle applies to every concept a life form will ever generate. the question therefore, is not whether we understand our reality, but whether you understand yours.

Answer 5

Q/1. I doubt it.
Q/2. Capable yes, but very unlikely to.
Q/3 Scientifically perhaps, but not essentially.