What makes "Reality" real?

Many great minds have pondered in depth as to the nature of reality. From a material reductionist view, reality is defined by objective atoms and energy. The father of Materialism was a famous Greek Philosopher named, "Democritus". It was his view that reality was made of atoms and everything else was opinions. During that time, Plato was solidifying idealism which views reality as a mind-generated experience.

Depending on your point of view, both philosophers were correct. Reality is composed both of atoms, and ideas. Why this is so, is because "Reality" requires an observer to make real the "experience of reality". It is often the "experience of reality" that most people view as real. The human brain takes in sensory data from five physical senses and through various conversions to nervous electrical impulses these signals are sent to the brain, where billions of neurons work together like a computer network to "digitally" render out the mind-generated experience of reality.

It is here that Plato is correct, the "reality" that he was observing was what his mind was generating. To him, this is all that mattered. He recognized that the objects and forms that he observed in this way was comprised of thoughts and ideas. The Cartesian Theater is an idea that proposes within the mind sits a theater with a little man, the Homunculus sits to watch what forms in this mental canvas of the mind. In this idea, the Homunculus is the observer and what the observer experiences is the final result of information processing by the human brain that renders a virtual reality based on sensory data.

It is this mind-generated virtual reality which makes the external world appear very real to the observer. Without the human body's ability to take in sensory data, and interpret this data through a nearly computer like manner where the space, color, texture, light and other sensory expeirences are grouped together to form this mind-generated experience.

What is this inner-canvas of the mind? Author Anthony Peake dives deep into this perception model of reality with his BIMAX experience that further describes a much more robust entertainment system that the brain uses to render experiences on. A virtual canvas of the mind which unlike a computer screen is the biological equivalent of virtual reality simulation.

Dreams also render on this BIMAX or Cartesian Theatre. When we sleep, the same information processes that go into creating experiences from sensory data go into creating vivid virtual dream realities. It is the nature of this inner-reality rendering farm that we possess that gives way to the very real experience of reality.

If we look at modern day metaphors, a 3D rendering farm is a good analogy of how the neural-network works together to process, and calculate data received by the senses to in turn render an output of this data in a coherent and meaningful way so that we, the observer can have a meaningful view of what that data is.

Humans occupy one of natures most amazing reality rendering farms, the human brain. It is the human brain that makes reality appear real to the observer. Without this observer model of reality, then regardless of how real atoms and matter is; the realizations, the awareness and ability to know and understand it would make such a reality seem like a void.

It is the living systems, the observers within this objective atomized Universe that turn this vast information system into a virtually rendered experience by which then the organism can respond to and survive within.

Without sentience, intelligence and life, the Universe could be forever unrealized and unknown. It seems some how, through some miracle nature figured out a way to take this objective matter and turn it into a system that allows reality to have an experience of itself.

With out the observer, what is or isn't real doesn't much matter. What makes Reality real, is a mind-generated experience that came from living organisms figuring out a way to process data and render this data into an experience.

reply to post by YouAreDreaming


What makes it real.........

Sex.......Good scotch......bacon.......and mountain air.....

but mostly bacon.......

reply to post by YouAreDreaming


Reality has the word real in it, so therefore it's real.

reply to post by YouAreDreaming


Reality is allowed to persist by consent of personal and group intentions. I love the "3D Farm" concept you mentioned. Very easy to grasp. While I don't have any more answers than you do, I did write an article on the subject as it relates to digital gaming (in my signature). I wouldn't plug my own paper normally but I honestly do think it might broaden your theories as much as your thread did to mine. Here's to great musings, man.

It is the living systems, the observers within this objective atomized Universe that turn this vast information system into a virtually rendered experience by which then the organism can respond to and survive within.

Without sentience, intelligence and life, the Universe could be forever unrealized and unknown. It seems some how, through some miracle nature figured out a way to take this objective matter and turn it into a system that allows reality to have an experience of itself.

With out the observer, what is or isn't real doesn't much matter. What makes Reality real, is a mind-generated experience that came from living organisms figuring out a way to process data and render this data into an experience.

Something is observing the birth of planets, for the birth to take place.
The universe itself is sentient........

reply to post by snowspirit


My variation on that theme would be: The Universe is sentience itself.

Namaste!

Quantum physics states that in any given space an object has the potential to appear anywhere in that space. It is the observer that causes an object to appear wherever he sees it.

Reality it a product of the mind.

In reality, I tend to take reality for granted. Granted, reality can come in degrees of intensity, and sometimes life can get way too real, and other times remarkably surreal, but come on, let's be real here, reality is a really just an illusion. Maybe even a delusion...that's me in the corner, that's me in the spot...light...just losing my religion...that was just a dream, just a dream. Chapters in my life, some so real, others as fictitious as my user name, or memories fabricating more user friendly reminiscence, but are not at all real...they just seem so real.

Emotions telling me things that do not jive with what logic would dictate, but those emotions make it seem so real. Cognitive dissonance ringing through my ears like a buzzing, banging, bothersome bell that sounds so, so, so, very real. Love coming and going and either in or out, it is always so damned real. Hate simmering on the back burner, occasionally bubbling over and making the kind of mess that very real hate can make, the reality of consequence has the odor of dank and rancid mops and rags spent too much on cleaning up after hate. The stench of fear permeates my essence, so real that every predator this side of the Western seaboard can smell my fear, and as I hyperventilate to give a visual and audio realization of that fear, I really begin to panic.

Serenity sometimes seeping into my self, I always lose it the moment I begin to wonder if it is even real. Was it real, this serenity? It is no longer, as I ponder the reality of serenity, and all reality I wonder if serenity could ever be real, but when I am serene, I cannot help but wonder if reality could ever be serene? Reality has little relevance when I am serene, it is only a crutch for the able. Crutches for the able too easily become spears and swords, and their wielders to easily become imposters imposing their reality as if it some sort of divine right to do so.

In reality, I really have no idea what reality is, what it is supposed to be, or even if it really exists this thing we call reality. If reality were really real would this make illusion illustratively illuminating? Really, what's the big deal with reality anyway?

reply to post by YouAreDreaming

Without sentience, intelligence and life, the Universe could be forever unrealized and unknown. It seems some how, through some miracle nature figured out a way to take this objective matter and turn it into a system that allows reality to have an experience of itself.

".some miracle of nature"

I love swimming in the miracle of nature.
Where else would I swim.
Pools and ponds and lakes so cold.
Streams and creeks and rivers raging
Seas and oceans and fields of wonder.
I wonder.
A miracle of nature.

Since the observer has an influence on the smallest particles of matter, I'd speculate that it's YOU that makes reality "real".

There is no such thing as 'real', just as there is no such thing as normal. They are both illusions created by people to make them feel better.

There is no way you can prove any other person has consciousness, which is strange by itself, so we could all be figments of your imagination, so what's real then?

Pred...

Was this rhetorical?

Imo 'realness' is determined by mutuality. You cant necessarily deny experiences, but under mutual definitions you can relate the similarities of an experience to the extent you can agree on what it is not. This may narrow down the 'real' parts of reality. I would say reality consists of appearances that come from the the will to define, when it is not defined, you end up with something everyone can agree on.

Again... Uder the theories of quantum physics very little of the world around us actually exists. This "reality" that we experience is essentially a group manifestation. reality does not technically exiat at all...

Originally posted by YouAreDreaming
Humans occupy one of natures most amazing reality rendering farms, the human brain. It is the human brain that makes reality appear real to the observer. Without this observer model of reality, then regardless of how real atoms and matter is; the realizations, the awareness and ability to know and understand it would make such a reality seem like a void.

...

With out the observer, what is or isn't real doesn't much matter. What makes Reality real, is a mind-generated experience that came from living organisms figuring out a way to process data and render this data into an experience.

... what if Reality were happening all around us in myriad ways, not dependant on us whatsoever. It wouldn't be physical per se, it would be Karmic and flowing in the realms of String Theory and "emotion clouds" that we occasionally tap into. So, what makes Reality real FOR US is how our brains process the data of the SuperString world, the various dimensions of reality. For other beings/consciousness living in those realms maybe we're just a way to work off some bad Karma or something or on a more positive note a way for beings to temporarily experience Individuality in a truly connected multiverse.

1. An apparent resistance to being malleable to fleeting and flitting thoughts.
   
2. An apparent self-containment (closure).
   
3. An apparent tendency to interact with itself.

Well, those make it seem real. Could be all it needs.

Remember the worst day of your life.. the worst experience where you wish you could just go home and have it all end... but you can't get away from it no matter what.. You are faced with the worst day of your life and it is slapping you in the face.

remember that day... now at that moment how real was your reality? If you are still unclear at how real reality is try to reproduce that day... and if you don't want to why not?? why?? was it to real for you? ?

now still holding on to how you felt that moment.. if someone asked you "what makes reality real" I bet my hairy brown butt you would say "this sure as heck makes reality real!" Or "STFU this is not time to ask stupid questions"

What makes it unreal?

The world existed before I took my first breath and will continue to exist long after I take my last one too.
It's real because our minds connect to it through our senses.

We are a bunch of mindless meatbags walking on the surface of a rock hurling through space until we stop for a moment and consciously observe the world around us.

reply to post by your maker


Saying that the world existed before you is no more than an assumption, yet you believe it is true. Believing that you are a mindless meatbag is also an assumption. This is what you say is reality, but really it is a belief. This belief has not been verified by you, you have not yet inquired into your real nature.

Think this is interesting when looking at ideas of real vs non-real. From the Lankavatara Sutra, said to be one of the main texts that Bodhidharma (who introduced Zen to China.) used :

154. By regarding the world as always like a magically-moving corpse, or a machine, or like a dream, or a lightning, or a cloud; the triple continuation is torn asunder and one is emancipated.
155. There is here nothing of thought-construction, it is like an image in the air; when they thus understand all there is nothing to know.
156. Here is nothing but thought-construction and name. You seek in vain for individual signs; the Skandhas are like a hair-net wherein discrimination goes on.
157. A world of multitudes is a hair-net, a vision, a dream, and the city of the Gandharvas; it is [a wheel made by] a firebrand, a mirage; it is a non-entity, only an appearance to people.
158. Eternity and non-eternity; oneness, too, bothness and not-bothness as well: these are discriminated by the ignorant who are confused in mind and bound up by errors since beginningless time.
159. In a mirror, in water, in an eye, in a vessel, and on a gem, images are seen; but in them there are no images [i. e. realities] anywhere to take hold of.

Also :

51. When the field of mentation gets confused, they imagine that there is something [real] to take hold of; in this imagination there is no perfect knowledge, it is false imagination rising from delusion.

Source : lirs.ru...