few days of thinking about things- I concluded that I am the only conscious being. The rest of the universe, including you, were likely generated by the presence of my consciousness, via quantum mechanics. I thought that I had made this discovery myself- being the only conscious being, I finally became conscious of my being the only conscious being- but it turns out its called solipsism.
So yes, you are just a bunch of mechanical monkeys, how do you like that.
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Perhaps, but I'm allergic to Bananas. Damnnn that sucks.
The current bananas that we eat are likely to go extinct in the next 5 years anyways.
@ Harry Truman
Voltaire came up with that theory many tears ago...."I think therefore I am."
Many tears ago? How does that work?
I know the idea was out there, but when I thought of it I thought I had come to the conclusion myself.
Reality itself doesn't make much sense, nothing has to exist, yet it does- there puld have just as easily been nothing, yet there is something. Logically there should be no matter, energy, space, or time, or consciousness. Yet, I have become conscious of thus entire universe. I must exist, but how? If our consciousness is generated by our brains, how can mere electrical pulses flowing around create consciousness? Thus, it cannot be the physical world that begat consciousness, but consciousness that begat the physical world.
Which begs the question- where did my consciousness come from? How did I "wake up" in this "universe?"
@Mykcob4 "Voltaire came up with that theory....."I think therefore I am."
Rene Descartes
Was a drunken fart
I drink therefore I am
That wasn't Voltaire, it was Rene Descartes.
Mechanical monkeys.
https://youtu.be/rwzl6eoZ8xo
@Harry Truman: "Mechanical monkeys."
No. Highly sophisticated bio-electrochemical apes, each with the power of reason and his/her own collection of motives, needs, ideas, and desires. In other words, other people.
What would your response be if I responded: No, I am the only thing that exists and you sir are a figment of my imagination.
Anyone can make this claim.
Yes, but I am me- and I am conscious- everything else is seen from the point of view of this meat sack here.
There are many questions on our heads Harry, we all have our out-of-the-box thoughts sometimes. And who knows if we are right or wrong.
I have my questions sometimes, like:
Why do we exist?
How will our minds just go blank after death, when I am (we) are basically intelligent "computers" able to store a massive amount of data throughout our lives, how would we just go blank?
How do we project memories?
How do we generate dreams (I think this was explainable)?
~ I can go on and on.
And, I would always think that I am basing myself in a unnecessary argument with my mind, since I'd mostly be fascinated on a World like Star Wars or Warhammer 40k, were apparently, everything means something.
You know, you can't help but just wonder, and that's also fascinating.
Harry Truman:
You are on like step 3 out of maybe around 10 steps along on the thought process of "who am I?" At least as I experienced it so far.
Atheist in general do not believe in "soul" which opens up a very squirmy can of worms on what conscious is, without the simple religious concept of "soul."
I have actually met quite a few atheist that still firmly believe in "soul" just not the strictly religious interpretation of it. The conclusion you can draw from the idea of we do not have "souls" can be terrifying to contemplate.
I definitely struggled with that question, probably when I was around your age too, when I was at the step you are at.
@Harry Truman: "I concluded that I am the only conscious being."
Just about everybody has that idea at some time. It's an interesting thought experiment, but you shouldn't act it out, or you'll become a selfish moron who acts like a jerk and treats other people like crap. Like Justin Bieber, for example.
Believe the evidence of your senses. What other choice is there?
Yes, but how do I know?
@Harry Truman "Yes, but how do I know?"
Why are you asking me if you think I don't exist?
In my theory, consciousness is a byproduct of evolution. Basic instinct tells us to eat and mate, find shelter, fend off predators. Humans and other complex animals became quite proficient at this, thereby allowing our brain to command the action without really thinking. Our long lifespan allows our brain to develop as we get older and learn things that are not instinctual, as our brains are no longer preoccupied with thinking about what to do to survive. As our mental abilities grow, so too does imaginative and mechanical thought which we know as consciousness. Of course, I have no evidence for this, so it's just a hypothesis as of yet.
For example: Harry, if you were really a solipsist, you wouldn't have posted here to inform us that you were a solipsist; since (according to your "solipsism") we are just constructions from your mind, so we already knew you were a solipsist; and presumably you already knew this!
And for what it is worth, I'm posting this for the other users; as the only thing sillier than solipsism, is trying to have a conversation with a solipsist.
I didn't think of that...
Voltaire, Decartes, Bozo; it doesn't matter who said what and why in the freak do we need history books and any related education in the topic?
You do realize if man discarded his spent minutes as he does his excrement we'd be less prone to repeating really dumb things like religiously-induced behavior, to cite at least one?
Religion and theism in general probably would have been lost to antiquity by now and men would be boony-stomping far-flung planet jungles while colonizing the stars. But, no, here we are trying to learn from the past, unsuccessfully, while studiously recording it as we make it.
Oh, but isn't it important to know who we used to be (as if that's changed)?
To what point am I babbling on? The OP's
We are who we are and vacillating within the context of that to arrive at a familiar, or at least an identifiable "who" is a mental masturbation of unparalleled needlessness so recognizable as human stupidity. Instead of divesting ourselves of known useless information we burden ourselves to hold onto it, sift through it for a sense of something needful (like purpose) and then vault the effort as an historical significance only the least saucer-depth mentality can fathom as essential.
We are so afraid of becoming irrelevant that we categorize our importance to remind ourselves we are important, catalog our achievements to ensure we have a vast vault of them to sate our self admiration, and the energy of ego to safely keep them atop the ever-increasing pedestals our humility inexplicably fabricates from thin air.
Oh, but we're a rational species, no?
We coined the word, defined it and then massacred all known evidence of its significantly prideful use and application along our time line. That's our history. Let's record and teach it so we won't repeat it. Sure, sounds...rational.
The fact that we're here is not a testament or claim of anything good about the species, and it's past is not anything I'd project forward lest we strap ourselves to it, get lost within it and forget where the door is.
The entire argument of erecting the future on the pillars of the past is in error. It's an excuse to move slowly testing for quicksand with each step, lodging more than moving and painfully thwarting a curiosity for the unknown by reveling in past g(l)ories.
Gonna put some single malt on the table and create (not replay) some music.
Harry, you have embarked on a road of self-involvement. which is fine. As was said before the mere fact that you posted those thoughts here proves that you are not a true solipsist. Seeking interaction defies the definition. Getting a response also defies it.
Solipsism is indeed a philosophical position that posits the self as the only thing that can be known to exist or the only consciousness that exists. It suggests that everything else, including other beings and the external world, is a creation or product of one's own mind. https://bitlife2.com/