i keep haing panic attacks over this and need the view of intelligent philosophers......................?

Question

how can you truly know if someone exists with out any type of human measurement. you can actualy prove that they are thinking minds. you can only know that you are. "i think therefore i am". so is it possible that you are the only one who exists? and everything else is just some craxy illusion created either by you or a greater creator??

if you dont beleive this then how do you know that your beleif is right? and if you DONT know for sure then what is the point in life? why should we keep going on, the only thing that realy matters in "life" is the love for your friends and family and they might not even exist

Answer 1

I think you think too much about stuff that doesn't matter

Answer 2

Perhaps you could think of it this way...what substantive difference would it make in your life one way or the other? If you knew for a fact that nothing exists, that it's all in your mind, how would your actions change on a daily basis? I think you need to wrap your head around the fact that nobody guaranteed you'd have all the answers. But that doesn't mean that you have to come up with one, either. The human brain is hardwired to come up with an answer for things; sometimes, just knowing that can help when we can't.

Having said that, understand that panic attacks can have a biological component, and that the psychological reasons we ascribe to them may not be accurate at all--in other words, you might actually be having attacks over some other cause, but this one sounds more acceptable to you. I would talk to a therapist.

Answer 3

It is true that the only thing that you can be certain of is that you exist and that the feelings that you have with people around you are just a reaction of the mind and the body. The question that you need to ask yourself is what makes it worthwhile. Is knowing that you exist more beneficial to your soul - or is the sharing or experiences with loved ones the thing that makes you complete and want to exist in the first place. Everything that you feel is created by the senses but what you feel as a result of these things is created by the soul - so it doesn't matter whether your belief is right or wrong as these are just measures of social politics. Normality is anything that is pleasurable to the self and is acceptable by society, so who are you really pleasing

Answer 4

man, I can very much relate to you. i can tell you what helps me in times like these. Think about this : what makes you so certain of your own perception and senses? Just because your brain logically formulates the idea that "you cannot really ever know if anything else is real" doesnt mean that your brain is correct. your brain is limited, and so is everyone else's. Maybe there is a whole lot more to the world that we can perceive. With this in mind, you see that we really have no choice but to rely on our best instruments.

PS. Its is quite interesting, I think we have the opposite problem. I have no problem believing in the physical reality of the world, and yet I find no meaning in it, exactly because I do not perceive any spiritual dimension in it.While you do feel the emotiona/spiritual, but fear that it might be irrelevant if "your friends and family" might not even exist

Good luck.

PPS. I ve sometimes wondered the same thing, if anyone is real in a spiritual way, and not just as a body, an organism

Answer 5

You are not the first to have this thought. You are not alone.

The theory you present is called solipsism. It is easy, however, to figure out that it is not you that created the illusion. (Do you remember creating it? Wouldn't you have made it more fun?) It might have been me, but, really, why would I bother with the rest of the universe then? Why would I build things that are much more interesting than you?

There is no point in doubting your own senses, including your empathic sense. Reality is real. Hence the name, reality. You are a part of it, but you, certainly as you think of your present self, are not half of it. Sorry, but you're just not that important, and neither am I. I can't prove that, but I sure can feel it.

Answer 6

Belief in your own existance is easy, belief in the existance of others is much harder.

I do believe that others exist. I can experience them with all 5 senses, and my experience tells me that if I can sense it in some way it is probably real. In addition, people come up with ideas and actions that boggle my own mind, so how could I have created it in the first place. I do not believe we are in an illusion from some being as by now someone would have overcome the illusion and others would have followed. I do not believe anything is capable of being all knowing, just well versed, and as such could not create an all encompassing trap.

In the end it comes down to ::shutter:: faith that what we percieve is real.

Answer 7

Why we keep going on is because we still seek, as you put it, "the point in life".

The Descartes axiom is invalid as a general statement. He used it to disprove the existence of a supremely powerful deceiver that might be trying to convince him that he existed when in fact he did not. How do you even know that your thoughts are your own and not preprogrammed?

The panic attacks are hopefully an exaggeration. Abandon philosophical though if it troubles you so. There are more distractions in this universe than you could ever tire of. Pick one that does not trouble you.

Answer 8

Well this a complex matter when you try to explain it......nevertheless once you understand it its not that difficult to understand actually......lets just say that it takes time and expierence to be able to get on track to deciphering what exactly we are doing in this world....if you would like to know what would make you happy.....well that would have to be the fact of being able to have an influence on other people....meaning: that you are able to transcend in life.....let it be either with youre family or maybe with what you do in life.....give something to be remember by....of course in the most positive way ever..........now what you ahve to learn.......is that wether physical reality is merely the effect it has on youre five senses is irrelevant to whether you should enjoy it or not.......know this for sure......but if you would like to learn more about this i would advise you to read and study other people.....but not just philosphers ......also physicists, economists, psychologists.....and all the whole bunch of people who wore prominent throughout history......youll find out a lot about their ideas as well......anyways good luck....

Answer 9

I believe because I must. There are some questions you can only ponder, not resolve, such as, "If the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into," and "What was there before the Big Bang?"

Life is too short to have panic attacks over this kind of thing. Lighten up a bit.

Answer 10

Since you believe that you exist ( a good start by the way) try to pass your balled up hand thru the image of a policemans face. This sort of reality check is difficult to stop once you begin, so rethink about your doubts about others reality before begining

Answer 11

life is a test conducted by the higher realm to which your spirit belongs. you're here to learn lessons and endure hardships to strengthen your soul. if you were weak you'd be dead already. you are proving to be strong because you're here now. don't question its point because we're not meant to know as long as we live within our physical bodies. just be. follow your heart. do what you believe to be "right." there's more going on behind the scenes. to know what that is, you must wait endure the present. just wait and see