Use of the world "Real" (What it means to you)

[Tewi]

You guys talk about these things being not real but still having an effect. There is no middle ground between "real" or "not real". There are only different definitions of what real means. Remember this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_theorem "If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences." This is why my definition of real is what is experienced. But another common conclusion to the question "What is real?" is the physical versus the imagined, as it has the most practical applications in daily life. Stigma applied to things being "not real" meaning they should not have an affect on you causes friction between users here who use different definitions. Use whichever you like, but make sure you understand the others too to avoid misconceptions and arguments.

[Guest Anonymous]

Well not a soul ever seemed to completely understand Mistgod at all with pseudo-real and now I doubt they will get quasi-real. Quasi-real sounds like a cheap version of real of lower quality. Kinda like a fake Nike shoes. They look like the real thing but are actually made of crappy material?

[tulpa001]

So, when you say pseudo-real, you mean partly real, or real in part?

 

I recommend the umbrella term grey-real.

 

You know, as best as I can tell, when real is not being used as a by-word for exist (Which I pointed out has a trivial answer. All that is discussed exists.), it is used as the opposite of illusion, not imaginary. A thing which is not real, is an illusion. Not all illusions are imaginary, and it is only in some people's minds that all imaginary things are illusions.

[Guest Anonymous]

Then there is a host, who shall remain nameless, who thinks his thougtform is purely imaginary, but his thoughtform insists she is real. Then everyone talking to the two have their brains explode into goo. How is that for a grey-real situation?

 

This was a good thread at first I guess, but it seems that it is ending up going nowhere but in circles like all the other hundreds of threads dealing with this issue.

[Tewi]

Sometimes even when I'm bored and want to reply to a thread again I don't, because there's a point where only a new individual's input will really be contributing to the topic. This occurs daily.

[Guest Anonymous]

Subtle hint Tewi?

[Tewi]

Direct advice shared from my own experiences really. I already made my point in this thread anyways, though.

[Guest Anonymous]

Mistgod and me too, so we will bow out and just lurk on this one from here on then. :-)

[Solune]

 

[*]Does the concept of reality even matter at all?

 

 

 

It matters exactly as much as you decide it does.

Our system does not subscribe to the idea of intrinsic value (or, by extension, objective truth).

 

As I've posited before in other threads: when you search for truth you are actually searching for control.

There is nothing wrong with wanting control over your life... it's just that control is an illusion.

For example, my own beliefs regarding this matter only serve as a subtler method of control.

I choose this particular illusion because it grants me more peace than the others I've encountered.

If you think about it too much you'll end up going in circles, so really you just need to pick a piece of the circle and make your stand.

 

Ultimately, fate comes for us all. No matter what we believe or feel or do... we cannot escape it. We are not free, and that is the greatest freedom any being can experience.

Contradiction is my reality.

 

 

here's a song that always cheers me up

[tulpa001]

I would challenge your notions of reality and truth with a pair of thought experiments.

 

First, If there is no intrinsic value, then where do valuable things get their value from? If nothing is valuable in and of itself, but something is valuable nonetheless, where did that value come from? And why is the thing the value came from not valuable? If the thing the value came from is valuable, and this is how it is capable of making the other thing valuable, where did its value come from?

 

Second, what happens to truth outside of the context of seeking it? Sure, we are searching for truth, and maybe the reason is to get control. and maybe control is an illusion. But in this thought experiment, we are not seeking it out. Merely wondering if it exists, or what it looks like. Can a truth that no one cares about still exist? Like a rock floating through space that no one will ever observe. Or a mathematical principle so esoteric no one will ever have a use for it. Or the trillionth-and-one digit of PI (I'm sure someone is interested in seeking out the trillionth digit).