All Questions
23
questions
1
vote
6
answers
1k
views
Is there a work of fiction so "fictional", that is so different from our everyday reality, that there is absolutely nothing similar to it? [closed]
Can one produce/write a work of fiction that is so fictional that there is no connection to anything within the real world? If not, why?
And what I mean by connection is that there is no relation in ...
- 1,539
-2
votes
3
answers
111
views
Is reality a "societal construct"? [closed]
What does it mean to say reality actually exists? Is it a product of society? If time - the fourth dimension is a societal construct, then shouldn't reality also be one?
11
votes
6
answers
2k
views
What is the definition of real?
What is the definition of the word "real"? For example, we can all agree that Harry Potter and unicorns are not real, while Mount Everest and Mars are real. Some people even say ...
- 7,686
3
votes
5
answers
302
views
Circularity in definition of Real
I'm having a hard time understanding the adjective 'real'.
In some sense, we get that x is real iff x is in reality. So to say that y is a real boy, is to say that y is a boy, and y is in the ...
- 261
1
vote
1
answer
126
views
Is reality a matter of perspective?
Imagine a world like the movie The Matrix where everything people experience is controlled by a massive computer. Let us assume that in this virtual world, there are ogres but no gorillas. Consider ...
- 10.9k
1
vote
1
answer
144
views
How do finite processes and endless mathematical objects relate to reality?
There seem to be several philosophers who believe science (plus human norms for Sellars) can in principle leave no unanswered questions about reality. I would call this finite or exhaustible.
Sellars:
...
- 2,932
-1
votes
2
answers
99
views
Can we know the Nature of matter because we are "made" of it?
When we consider the world to be curved spacetime sparkled and specked with tiny elementary particles (which ultimately may turn out to be ultra tiny compactifications os space) then logically we are ...
1
vote
2
answers
119
views
What are the prerequisites for knowing something?
I want to get some references, expand and check mi intuitions. I think the epistemological prerequisites to know something are by order:
an external reality, which is stable to a minimum degree so ...
0
votes
6
answers
873
views
What have philosophers had to say about something being ‘real’ vs ‘imaginary’?
How do philosophers approach this difference? Is the question the same as asking 'what is the difference between real and imaginary'? What makes something real vs imitation? And, why it is so ...
- 21
2
votes
7
answers
671
views
Can we know anything about the "outside", if we are in a simulation?
Please note this question isn't about "simulation" as such. It is cast in this way to illustrate a particular sub-to-super ontology relationship:
Given that all we see or seem, are the product of ...
- 2,483
3
votes
1
answer
187
views
Why do we have an expectation of symmetry?
After all there are some indications that we shouldn't:
Who first studied "logical (ir)reversibility"?
And even the fundamental nature of symmetry is in question:
Is symmetry real?
...
- 2,483
5
votes
4
answers
303
views
Does the history of our concept of reality, tell us something about Reality?
Whether looking at a human maturing or the progress of civilization, the idea about what Reality is, keeps on changing. And mostly it changes toward the more complex, more elusive, more difficult to ...
- 2,483
3
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Is it possible to be 100% certain of the existence of reality?
I don't really understand why some philosophers claim that it's impossible to be absolutely certain of anything except my own consciousness. Isn't that absurd? Personally I believe that this kind of ...
user34482
6
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Is there a philosophical principle stating that everything that can be imagined can possibly / must necessarily exist?
Is there a philosophical notion that stipulates or proposes one of the following statements?
Everything that can be imagined could also possibly exist.
Everything that can be imagined must necessarily ...
- 161
4
votes
1
answer
604
views
Are Graham Harman's concealed real objects "inaccessible" or merely "not fully accessible in a given moment"?
I am reading Graham Harman's "Quadruple Object", but having difficulties in following the connection he makes between the Real Object and the Sensual Qualities.
He starts forming his quadruple ...
- 267