Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [reality]

In Philosophy reality is usually defined by metaphysics, but in physics (or in the example, quantum mechanics) reality is based upon observation, as explained by Schrödinger's scenario explaining the implications of the Copenhagen interpretation as it applies to "everyday objects" .

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Why is the complex number an integral part of physical reality?

In modern physics, the quantum wave distribution function necessarily uses complex numbers to represent itself. If physics defines the physical reality, then what we are saying by the statement above is that the reality is made up of immeasurable…
Dheeraj Verma
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Can we prove reality?

I heard someone make an assertion that 'We cannot really prove that there is reality.'. 'Reality' here would mean the universe and everything in it. You could look at an apple and think its an apple but it could really be something else, and we…
martinverdejo
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Does True Randomness actually exist?

I tend to think of randomness as a lack of complete information when it comes to knowing something. If we look at the history of probability theory it centers on a lack of knowing the exact outcome of certain games/gambling bets. This I have no…
Pete1187
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What are some arguments against the brain-in-a-vat thought experiment?

I read this article about how this guy in Switzerland did an experiment that he thought proved the Simulation Hypothesis of reality (link: http://arxiv.org/abs/1210.1847). I have also been reading the original philosophy paper by Nick Bostrom…
Josh Zmijewski
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Are we all ‘atheist’ or 'agnostic in a pandemic'?

Saudi Arabia is a deeply religious country. Most of the people in the Persian Gulf nation pray five times a day, 35 times a week, 140 times a month and 1,680 times a year. But they banned pilgrimages (one of the pillars of Islam), because of the…
Barungi Stephen
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Is time a physical factor or just a concept?

When thinking of cycles and myths, one cannot pass the idea of Kronos or Kali. That brought me to form some questions about the nature of time. Three definitions for time: Time is a measure of the change. Change is a result of the forces. Time can…
MarkokraM
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What makes Humans different from a chemical computer?

Are we all robots? Is our DNA the 0's and 1's of computer code? Are we an advanced computer system, with instead of keyboard and mouse input... input from our senses. Our database being our brain to process all the information. Our offspring…
Justin Tyme
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Existence of an Intelligible Physical World beyond the Mind

Possible Duplicate: Are there any philosophical arguments to disprove or weaken solipsism? What justification(s) exist for the generally-agreed-upon axiom that a physical world beyond our mind both exists, and is knowable? This seems to be taken…
Jonathan Sampson
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What makes things real?

Suppose that a person can't sense anything. He can't see, hear, feel. Nothing. So for him, does anything even exist? Does that mean only things we can sense are real or existent? Also, how would you define non-existence?
user701763
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How do the meanings of *to exist*, *to be*, and *real* differ?

What definition of to exist, of to be, and of real preponderates contemporary philosophy? How do the terms differ from one another?
Hal
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What are the most basic assumptions one has to make in order to conduct science?

I often wondered: What are the most basic assumptions I have to make before I can even start thinking about life, universe and the rest? So far I have boiled them down to three: There is a world, a reality. I am part of this world. My senses…
k0pernikus
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What would a quantum interpretation without ontology be like?

Luboš Motl keeps insisting quantum mechanics invalidates ontology, and has made ontology obsolete, just like phlogiston. What would metaphysics without ontology look like, where words like "existence" and "reality" are banned?
spinning head
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Can we be Boltzmann brains? Or, how can we be sure there is no conspiracy about the past?

The way things are traditionally presented about time, there is the present, the past is fixed, and the future is open. The second law of thermodynamics is invoked. But how can we be so sure the past is fixed? Some musings on this topic can be found…
Nate
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Why does all of existence take place through my subjective point of view?

Asking such a question almost seems a bit insane. While I agree that there certainly seems to exist an objective external reality of which I seem to be a part of, I can never experience existence in a truly objective way (by not being a part of it…
virtore
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Why distrust our senses?

It seems self-evident that the phenomena we sense are accurate and correlate to the real world. What sorts of philosophical arguments might cast doubt on this conviction in the veridicality of perception?
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