having ALOT of anxiety over this. please help...........?

Question

are there any books that prove that there is an objective reality that exists independently for our subjective reality?? the thought that everything is subjective an only exists in my mind including my loved ones is a horrible thought and is causing me to feel very lonely. is there proof that things exist independently from our perceptions??

the reason it is so depressing is because it makes life meanigless and therefore gives you no reson to keep on living.

Answer 1

If you're stuck in an ontological crisis, how would a book, or some answer here, help? If objective reality is a Cartesian delusion, wouldn't any ideas contained in the book actually be yours already?

Think about your loved ones as dreams. You can still enjoy them even if they are a figment of your imagination. Take comfort that their suffering and eventual death aren't really happening.

Answer 2

sorry, there is no way to prove conclusively that there is anything out there beyond your perceptions. this has been a question which has been wrangled with by philosphers for thousands of years; there are a lot of different ways to approach it.
one of the most well known in our times is Schroedingers cat. a cat is put in a box where it cannot be monitored. A particle is fired in the vicinity of the box which may or may not kill the cat. until you open the box to find out whether or not the cat is alive or dead, the cat remains in an indeterminate state. that is to say, in a very real way the cat can be both alive and dead, but really neither at all, in the box until you open it, at which point the laws of reality kick in and one or another state is selected.
don't make the mistake of thinking that the cat dies at that moment; it has either been alive the whole time, or it died at the moment the particle was fired at it, but until you open the box, it's not really one or the other. it is unknown.
Rene Descartes, who lived in the 16th century and was the inventor of scientific method, was also very concerned with what you are talking about. If you want more info research Descrtes dreaming argument. He resolved it by affirming his faith in an Almighty God who is good and Descartes says that such a being would not lie to us or cause us to be decieved about such a big thing. therefore reality beyond our perceptions is real.
the word for what you are concerned about is solipsism, which is the theory that only the self exists or can be proved to exist. it is a legitimate thing to be concerned about, but to allow yourself to get worked into an anxious state over a question like this is somewhat pointless, since, unfortunately, you can't point to anything at all that is real but that does not come to you through your senses, which are fallible, illusory, deceptive, and subjective.
generally, I am with Descartes (without holding quite the same religious position he takes). Perhaps this is all some kind of deception and someone or something has pulled the wool over our eyes; but what good does it do you to suppose this is the case? the best you can do is work with the tools you have. there is a certain empowerment to this; in all likelihood there really and truly is something outside of our perceptions, but it is undifferentiated, disorganized, chaotic, meaningless. it is up to US to MAKE the world in a very real way. what you do with your perceptions creates and changes and shapes things very powerfully. Have some faith that your loved ones really are there, and you can make a shared reality together with them, and don't worry that you don't have the full assurance you would like to have because, well, it just ain't coming, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Answer 3

Your question says a few things about you: 1. you're intelligent 2. you're probably sensitive, and 3. you might be going through a depression.

I remember how, when I was a teenager, it kept bugging me that everything is temporary, and it really made me feel depressed, until one day I realized that even though life is temporary, it's still beautiful and worth living, a thousand times! That came after I'd found fulfillment in Christianity.

This probably doesn't answer you question about objective reality, but you don't need to find the answer to be happy. The only certainty that we have is that our minds are simply too small to understand everything, even those of the Einsteins among us.

Answer 4

The Buddha is said to have found this objective reality. I would go out and see a good comedy movie or take a drive with your family and just relax. We are all in the same boat as you.

Answer 5

Don't you have a "Family Tree?" And isn't that the most important evidence you need? And as far as things existing independently, DO YOU KNOW somebody is answering your question over the Internet? And wouldn't that be evidence of something independently existing? (Hense you do not know this person or anything about them.)

Answer 6

the Bible comes to mind. true, many would say it cannot be "proved", but i disagree mainly because it originates with the nation of israel and was recorded over many, many years as an historical text, among other things. because of the time taken to write it and the number of people it affected, it wouldn't be possible to just "make it up". we may not be able to see first hand what happened in it, but we can't go back and meet socrates either, yet there is no question that he did exist. the Bible not only answers these questions, but offers hope, meaning, and stresses LOVE so thematically and poignantly. God uses this bewilderence over our existance and need for significance, to lead us to His word and to Him.

Answer 7

I guess that depends on how you define reality. Look at it this way: suppose you're standing next to a fire hydrant, and some idiot smashes it with his car. You get wet; that is a kind of proof, isn't it?

Answer 8

It is interesting that while you debate over this, the world still turns. If you find life meaningless, the sun still shines. If you find that the world is enriched with meaning, the grass still grows.

How does a tree know that it is a tree?
Would it matter?

Answer 9

Yeah.
Here's some proof.
Tada.


Sorry but yeah the fact that other people/things interact with you without you wanting them to proves it.

Ever been in accident?
Proves it again.
You couldn't have concieved the accident because you were caught by suprise.

I guess stuff along that line works.

Answer 10

READ SIDDARTHA BY HERMAN HESSE