could reality exist in absence of human beings who perceive it and conceive of it?
2007-03-04 06:19:20 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
More powerful minds than mine have wrestled with this one already, but here goes...
If by reality you mean physical matter, then yes, reality exists independent of observers. The tree falls & it makes a sound whether you're there to hear it or not. It's independent of your existence.
But reality --"what is real" -- must also be a mental construct of human consciousness. It is the result of the "lens through which we view the world." It DOES not exist independent of that observer.
2007-03-04 09:29:28 · answer #1 · answered by Tom K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, there are many phenomenon that exist in the universe that humans could not perceive/conceive in the past, and also there are undoubtedly more phenomenon that we will discover at a future time. The example I hear talked abut most during lectures are molecular properties and astronomy. Brain activity is made up of complicated ionic gradients and migration that existed as far back as prehistoric times yet were unlikely to be fathomable to man until much later. If you are a faithful believer, you can say the afterlife is a entity not perceived or conceived by humans.
Basically, any process we do not have the means to record or measure can be thought of as a reality independent of existence.
2007-03-04 06:41:32 · answer #2 · answered by Ted H 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Taxes are the only reality. We don't see the government clerk writing up our bi-annual tax bill. It does happen, but at the point of it being printed, we are totally unaware of that particular sheet of paper. It only becomes a reality when we open it, and see what our path in life will be.
2007-03-04 06:27:47 · answer #3 · answered by mac 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If it couldn't, humans would never have gotten here. That would imply that there was no reality while the earth was forming 4 billion years ago. To me that is absurd.
2007-03-04 06:47:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ask yourself this question, if you died, would reality still exist?
The problem is, that no matter how you try and conceive this thought, it's still you conceiving it.
2007-03-04 06:55:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
A universe absent of consciousness could exist
2007-03-04 07:15:36 · answer #6 · answered by Micheal A 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
we could spend ages pondering but if the answer is what we think to be the answer then it will continue to be neutral, countering itself, leaving a different but same question, so why bother?
2007-03-04 08:32:01 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
there is reality beyond existance, but it is far more than we could ever comprehend.
2007-03-04 08:11:29 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Ask the dinosaurs.
2007-03-04 06:27:14 · answer #9 · answered by weebegee 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
reality is not perception, but beginess
2007-03-04 07:09:39 · answer #10 · answered by jackjack 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋