Dr. Michael Sexson informed the class yesterday, twice I might add, that I am a believer in the philosophical idea of solipsism. I don't think anyone was more surprised than me. For starters, I had no idea what the word meant. As Dr. Sexson looked at me for acquiescence of his words, I pretended to know what was happening and nodded along. Upon reflecting on this class, I remembered to look up the word. I figured it was probably a good idea to see whether or not I should nod along next time.
Wikipedia.org says "Solipsism as an epistemological position holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure. The external world and other minds cannot be known, and might not exist outside the mind. As a metaphysical position, solipsism goes further to the conclusion that the world and other minds do not exist. "
I like to think this doesn't describe me. I mean, let's be real, it sounds a little self-absorbed. Although it does remind me of a story of me, in which I'm sure you're all extremely interested in reading. Because it is about me. Honestly, who wouldn't be interested in reading that?
Just kidding! But seriously, more about what I think. I think there is a certain amount of validity to this philosophical idea. First of all, there really isn't a way to prove that it is not true. Then again, if I base my beliefs on things that are near impossible to prove otherwise, I would have to believe in unicorns and Santa Claus. The only way to disprove the unicorn would be to gather all the four-legged creatures in one place and determine whether or not they are unicorns by the process of elimination. The same goes for Santa. We'd have to gather all the people in the world who look like Dr. Michael Sexson and ask each of them some serious questions about elves. It is simply too difficult a task.
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Ooops, I digress. What I was trying to say was that I find some logic behind this theory that the world only exists in my brain, but that it doesn't explain things like the ice caps melting or whales going extinct. Nobody can put the blame of those things on me! I didn't think that up!
In my religion class, we talk a lot about "creating your own reality", in terms of neuroplasticity and quantum physics. It's pretty cool stuff. Anyway, I think those ideas differ from solipsism because they account for other people. My interpretation of solipsism is that everyone but me is a figment of my imagination, on Earth to serve me. In contrast to "creating your own reality", where other people exist too and we interact because we have coinciding, or colliding, realities.
Moral of the story: I will not nod my head in agreement that I am a solipsismist. A lot of the world happens inside my own head, but I think that can be said for all people.
P.S. I took this picture of Dr. Michael Sexson reading my blog.
