“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in
it, does not go away”
This very basic definition by Phillip K. Dick, the highly respected, American author of science fiction stories, that regularly
explored philosophical, social and political themes in society, speaks directly
to the complexity of trying to explain reality’s true meaning. Strictly
speaking, reality relates to any and everything we experience with our five
senses. Everything we feel, hear, see, smell and taste is included in our concept
of realty. Hence in our mind’s eye, if it is not seen, or touched, or heard or
tasted or smelt it is unlikely to be accepted as real. But clearly this answer
is neither accurate nor is it complete. For although it would be correct to
interpret as reality, touching a person, seeing the sky, hearing the sound of a
moving train, or smelling a rose, yet is thinking a thought, or solving a
mathematical problem not reality? And again, how does one categorize such
experiences as the images created during episodes of ‘virtual reality’ that
appear so real?
This
is precisely why Albert Einstein, the
great German-born, Nobel Prize winning theoretical physicist whose theory on Quantum Physics changed our
understanding of our world, was moved to announce:
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistent
one.”
He argued that since
reality relates to objects appearing as they are and since everything perceived
by an individual result from electrical stimulations reaching the brain, it
would be impossible to prove that anything exists, except as “illusions” in the mind of the observer. He envisaged
reality as merely an illusory experience that remains unchanged making it seem
‘real.’ He concluded that what is referred to as reality is in fact a set of
neural firings interpreted by the brain; in
effect it is an illusion, albeit permanent. This apparent ambiguity in
perception is what has given rise to the understanding that reality is in
effect a very individual experience that cannot be exactly copied by anyone
else. Because of this for example, the same blue sky seen by one person is
never seen in the exactly the same way by another.
Man
has been searching for the true meaning of reality for as long as he has
inhabited the world. As far back as the 5th century BC, the great
Greek philosopher, Parmenides, described
his concept of reality in the following terms:
“We can speak and think only of what exists. And
what exists is uncreated and imperishable for it is whole and unchanging and
complete. It was not, nor shall be different since it is now, all at once, one
and continuous.”
He
argued that reality exists and continues to do so without changing, and once
something appears, it cannot change. But later, both Plato and Aristotle challenged
this view, insisting that reality is indeed subject to change. While Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the great Roman
Stoic Philosopher, statesman and author, in trying to offer an explanation for
the vast variations in our perceptions of reality, was moved to observe:
“We are more often frightened than
hurt, and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.”
In fact, arguments and disagreements like
these have continued on through the ages without any definitive consensus
developing.
Current thinking is not any clearer. Even
with the findings that space, energy, matter and time each operate in ways that
are unintelligible to the human mind, our perceived concepts of reality
continue to remain obscure. The popular consensus is that reality is what each
individual observes through the responses that these observations trigger in his
brain. In effect, the true definition is left to each individual’s brain to
determine, so reality in short, is what the individual
experiences and the reactions they trigger. Like so many other aspects of human
behavior, reality does not lend itself to easy explanation but rather comes
down to each person accepting what he finds comfortable to be able to function.
Douglas
Adams, the extremely successful
British author, sculptor and artist, whose works received international
acclaim, once observed:
“Everything you see or hear or
experience in any way at all is specific to you. You create a universe by
perceiving it. So everything in the universe you perceive is specific to you.”
He correctly stressed that
reality is directly related to perception and therefore cannot be shared. And
even in each individual, reality is never consistent and unchanging, but varies
in relation to what is received. It is not difficult to understand why
people see reality is such different and contrasting ways when one considers
than each person sees his world differently. Each individual brings to bear
factors that are more related to subjective responses rather than objective
ones. The view of their world is based on such deeply embedded factors as
insecurities, beliefs, identities, image and experience. The end result is
always a cumulative effect of everything reaching the brain which
then formulates an image; this is reality. Even in people with compromised vision or any of the other senses,
the process of formulation continues in the brain, producing their concept of
reality.
Sigmund Freud, the great German-born
psychiatrist and founder of the school
of Psychoanalysis, in his
assessment expressed the relationship of Illusions
and Reality in the following, very
pragmatic terms:
“Illusions commend themselves to us because
they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore
accept it without complaint when sometimes they collide with a bit of reality
against which they are dashed to pieces.”
He
took pains to point out that reality was fundamentally just a more permanent
expression of our thoughts and our illusory experiences. This was why it was so difficult to persuade a person with hallucinations or delusions that what was being experienced was not reality. To him, we see
what our minds imagine!
It
should come as no surprise therefore, that
we spend so much our lives chasing after reality, while we live in hope, never
knowing that what we see, do, or think is in fact illusory or real.
Earl
Nightingale, one of America’s
most successful radio personalities and author of several inspirational books,
went to great lengths to draw attention to the fundamental relationship between
our subconscious attitude and ultimate reality. He explained his concept of
reality in this manner:
“Whatever we plant in our subconscious
mind, and nourish with repetition and emotion, will one day become reality.”
In
psychology, the universal truth is that the subconscious is the creator of all
reality. The objective reality that surrounds all our living is formed by our
subconscious, and every thing we perceive in the physical world has its origins
in the thoughts and beliefs within the psyche. To the behaviorist, every aspect
of life; what is perceived and how it is perceived, has its direct origin in the
brain. William James, one of the leading
American thinkers of the 19th century, a philosopher and
psychologist, explained this relationship very effectively when he wrote:
“Thoughts
become perceptions.
Perceptions
become reality.
Alter your
thoughts, alter your reality.”
To
me, this statement fully epitomizes the fundamental assessment of reality as it
applies to each individual, and explains why there are such great variations in
the appearance of reality. Since our thoughts are never consistent, then so is our
sense of reality, equally inconsistent.
Further,
with the development of the Quantum
Hypothesis, scientists insist that everything we experience with all of our
senses can be broken down to fundamental atoms moving about at different rates.
This means that what we see as a real object is merely our interpretation of
what we think it should be. As Anais Nin,
the provocative French-American author of Cuban heritage, who achieved
international fame as a author, essayist and critic, so wisely explained:
“We don’t see things as they are; we
see them as we are.”
Because of this nebulous state of our understanding,
it is clear that it never ever pays to chase after reality, especially if the
source of that reality is not directly your own, but is someone else. Nor
should it ever be allowed to so control life to the extent that progress is
frustrated. Either of these options is unacceptable. Instead, since reality is
the result of individual perception, it should be left to each individual to
use his own senses to determine his own course. Anwar Sadat, the 3rd president of the Republic of Egypt
and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978 for negotiating peace with Israel, offered
one of the finest explanations to understanding the true meaning when he
observed:
“He who
cannot change the very fabric of his thought, will never be able to change
reality, and will never make progress.”
This indeed should be the approach that everybody
should adopt in dealing with reality, since it is only way to ensure its truth.
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