Are we so callous to think that all existence begins and ends with humanity's perception?

Answer 1

Ah, finally a question worth trying to answer.

Your question is more of a statement. Yes, of course we are not only callous, but ignorant. I have often thought of why people try and conceptualize things like the meaning of life and God. It's like trying to ask my cat to tell my why my husband won't let me throw away his t-shirts. Our minds are limited by our perceptual ability. We have senses, and yes, we are still developing them. We can look for things only if we know that they're there. Much of science and what we know we've stumbled across. We don't have all of the absolutes, because there are probably things we don't even know to look for yet. Our tiny little minds trying to answer questions of purpose and meaning, within rational thought.... I wonder how much we're de-evolving by such forced thinking.

As a nurse, I can tell you that no one can teach you how to exactly know when a patient is heading into a crisis, or when they need this stat, or when it's nothing to worry about. It's a lot of intuition! There is an energy that lies within us, a connection to intellect far greater than our minds and it requires us to stop trying so hard.

I don't try and answer those questions, I just try and live to the best of my abilities. If we were to know, exactly, what existence is about, the universe would have told us by now. I think the point is we aren't supposed to know, consciously. Our genes have traced back to the origin of life and with as miraculous as life is, I would think along with our mutations and evolution we have the ability to 'know' what we should be doing here.

And that's living, enjoying each other, reveling in our senses and focusing on the marvel of it all. Like my cat snoozing in a patch of sunlight - she's got it all figured out.

Answer 2

No, of course not. Human perception only covers a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. To cope with this, we have designed over the years a number of devices to examine the world outside the spectra which our senses permit.

Of course, I am deliberately misinterpreting your statement. I'm sure you mean that it is callous to believe that existence begins and ends with empirical measurement.

I really think your question is attacking a strawman. No one believes that existence begins and ends with our perception.

However, for all practical purposes, things which are beyond perception are treated as nonexistent. The reason is that it is impossible to acquire knowledge about them.

We can only shrug our shoulders here. I'm sorry if this answer is dissatisfying to you.

Answer 3

I hear what you are saying. I personally don't think that existence is just humanity's perception but there are quite a lot of people on my ethics class who still do tend to lean towards that view. I wonder if that largely where consumerism and materialistic attitudes come from- people only seeing instrumental value of this world and only those that effect humans (not saying that all people are this way).

Answer 4

How else could humanity measure existence? Does a rock exist, how does it percieve us? Are we so callous, or are we so insightful to labor within our perception though we realize it's limits?

Answer 5

This is a question I have asked of people who do not believe in alien life forms. If you are a devout Christian my experience is that they do. I think it is pretty arrogant considering the size of the universe (which we don't really don't know how big that is) to think that there is no other place that there is a sun that warms the water on a planet enough to sustain life. They do say that in order for life as we know it to happen there must be water, but what about pure energy intelligent life. I don't have the answer but I for one think we should keep asking the question. I like your open mind.

Answer 6

all of these concepts have born by human existence, specially callous so i have never heard birds call each other callous, just an idea

Answer 7

Of course, each of us perceives all existence from ones own perspective. All existence is only what we can perceive of it. Existence might be a never-ending cycle of creation and destruction but to us all it will ever be is but the start and the end of a period of time. Having this narrow view of existence leads us to an ignorant's calloused shelter, where escape is impossible but for the tech tools who have their own impossible boundaries.

Answer 8

Obviously! Afterall, reality is perception.

Answer 9

Yes. We all think that.
Every single one of us
Thank you very much.

Answer 10

It seems that way.
On the other hand, we've probably
been around forever.