What is reality?

Question

Is it what you perceive with your sensory organs? Or is it what people say is real? What if you see the color blue, and 10 other people say they see green? Which is the reality? Or is it defined some other way?

Answer 1

Definition of Reality
The state or quality of being real; actual being or existence of anything, in distinction from mere appearance; fact.
That which is real; an actual existence; that which is not imagination, fiction, or pretense; that which has objective existence, and is not merely an idea.


"There comes a point when a dream becomes reality and reality becomes a dream." ~~Frances Farmer

Answer 2

Thanks for a great question. If reality were what people say is real, I would check out of this crazy planet. So screw that possibility.
I really lean toward the idea that Perception is Reality. Whether people are sane or insane, they see the world in a certain way, and that is the way they behave. It is true in relgious matters. It was true when everyone was either a believer in the Flat Earth or the Round One. It is true in politics. Have u ever tried to talk someone who is a Liberal or a Conservative, and u want them to see the opposite point of view? If u have an doubt that reality varies from one person to another, talk to someone who feels strongly---Hey, what to do u feel about gun control laws? Many of those people would sell their grandmother and their granddaughter into slavery before they would change their viewpoint about such "sacred" subjects. As for the sensory organ approach, senses can be fooled. There are several brands of perfume that could be worn by a circus clown, and I would still find them sexy. Visual and touch are also equally able to be fooled. I hope there is no word limit cuz this question is just so stimulating. Thanks again 4 asking.

Answer 3

Your question is quite provocative. I think that it can be answered in more than one way. Your color example evokes the idea that only you (or I or anyone) can judge what is reality to us; what you call blue may indeed be a different color as I see it. What you believe through your experiences, education, reading, etc., determines your concepts of reality. Conversely however, those who are regarded as mentally ill (schizophrenics come to mind) find convincing a "reality" which society judges to be fallacious, even dangerous or potentially damaging to the subject and others; once diagnosed, the "patient" will be treated with medication in order to dispel his/her false "reality". Thus, general reality is that which is regarded as socially acceptable, while personal reality is whatever the individual perceives so long as it does not present a peril to him-/herself or associates

Answer 4

reality is the real face of life which we refuse to admit or to open our eyes to see!!i see we r hiding from the reality, which is the real us!!we r acting yes,we r living in a such a big drama starting from fashion we wear which is hiding our weakness & poor social ability ending with our done combed dried hair or postage which is not our real hair. Today I saw a blancket on the street were two corps are lying under it(well covered) I clothed my eyes, then when I openned my eyes I saw a weak boy bare foot asking for help, i didn't even give him an ear!!then i realized how hard heart i have!!I am not mother tereaza any way!!(I just replied with this phrase to comfort my self from the reality) , the reality is hard but we must face it!!

Answer 5

reality in its truest form is what is real to you. In the that we have to live with is what is real to everyone else. We have to accept that if 10 other people say it is green then it is green, even if you see blue. We have to follow the majority to be in our reality. Reality isnt real. What is real is what you personally believe. Reality is what the majority believes.

Answer 6

This is more easily understandable if one considers the actual scale of the components of an atom. If one takes into account the fact that the neutrons, protons and electrons of an atom actually have huge spaces between them it becomes clear that the atoms that make up seemingly solid objects are made up of 99+ percent empty space.

This alone does not seem too important till you add the idea that the atoms that make up seemingly solid objects are more of a loose conglomeration that share a similar attraction but never really touch each other.

At first glance this does not really seem relevant, but closer analysis reveals that this adds a tremendous amount of empty space to solid objects that are already made up of atoms that are 99 percent space. When so-called solid objects are seen in this light it becomes apparent that they can in no way be the seemingly solid objects they appear to be.

We ourselves are not exceptions to this phenomenon.

These seemingly solid objects are more like ghostly images that we interpret as solid objects based on our perceptual conclusions.

From this we must conclude that Perception is some sort of a trick that helps us to take these ghostly images and turn them into a world we can associate and interact with. This clever device seems to be a creation of our intellect that enables us to interact with each other in what appears to be a three dimensional reality.

I hope that helps to answered your question.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 7

Reality is subjective. Each person experiences reality slightly differently. For the sake of harmony, we try to agree on things such as colours, names, proximity.

Answer 8

well what I see as green could be your red, gray, lime green etc. we have no way of knowing though or this could all just be a dream the thing is we don't really know what is or isn't reality.

Answer 9

reality is the principle by which a being organizes its lived experience.

Answer 10

Reality is what believe is real.