OT: reality (wasRe: Atlantean)

--- Adam Walker <carrajena@...> wrote:
> --- Gary Shannon <fiziwig@...> wrote:
> > --- John Cowan <cowan@...> wrote:
> > > Andreas Johansson scripsit:
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> > > To me the most plausible explanation is that
> Plato
> > > made the story up
> > > in order to make a point.
> >
> > Ah, but the important question is not "Is it
> true?"
> > but rather "Is it fun to believe?"
> >
> > If it's fun to believe then who cares if it's true
> > or
> > not?
> >
> > --gary
>
> My skin just crawls when I hear statements like
> that.
> I sometimes wonder if I'm the only human being who
> still believes that objective truth exists.  And
> that
> knowing and believing the real truth not just the
> convinient or happy truth is important.
>
> Adam
There are certain relativistic frames in which it can
be said that two events took place, but it cannot be
objectively determined which event took place first.
There are certain quantum theoretic frames in which it
is equally difficult to determine the "objective"
reality of the situation.

In the final analysis, the belief in the existence
objective reality depends upon one's a priori
metaphysical assumptions.  If one subscribes to
materialistic realism then one _assumes_ that
objective reality exists and, since that is an axiom,
no proof is necessary.  If, however, one subscribes to
transcendental idealism (as I do) then the existence
of objective reality is NOT taken to be an a priori
axiom, and, in fact, such a thing as objective reality
cannot be proven to exist.

As a
quantum-realtivistic-Buddhist-transcendental-idealist,
I defy you to prove the existence of objective
reality.  Great minds have tried and failed.  In the
final analysis one can only choose whether to _assume_
objective reality exists or to _assume_ that it does
not.


--gary

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