Do You Believe In Reality?

I'll go first. Yes, I DO believe in 'reality.' Can I tell you exactly what it is? Not really... But I don't let that stop me from talking about it.

I sometimes get into 'discussions' where someone will say something like 'Everything is subjective.' In a sense that's right. In another sense, that statement is absurd. It is correct in the sense that we humans perceive 'reality' through our imperfect senses. My eyes are not your eyes. My nose is not your nose. So whatever I see, smell or sense is subjective. My brain is not your brain (be thankful) and my thoughts are not your thoughts. My thoughts are subjective.

In another sense, I would argue that to say that reality is totally subjective is self-contradictory. If there is no shared, common, 'objective' reality, it makes no sense trying to discuss it with another person. Even to make the statement 'reality is subjective' requires that you believe that there is a 'reality' and a 'truth' about reality itself that can be agreed upon. For that matter, can any conversation be anything but nonsense if you deny the possibility of that common ground we call 'reality?' So yes, I believe in reality. Proof? Sorry, can't be done.

A good Sophist would find lots of ways to argue with me here, I am sure. But I try not to waste my energy arguing with Sophists. The ultimate sophistic refuge is Solipsism, the assertion that the only thing real in the Universe is oneself. It is an easy enough position to defend, and an idiotic belief to hold. Let me leave you with an anecdote. Somebody wrote to Bertrand Russell something to the effect of 'I am a Solipsist. I can't understand why more people don't share my position.'

Beautiful