Nihilism moment...

[caitlinwaters]

I've just had an overwhelming revelation...I feel as if I'm wandering into space not knowing what's really real or an illusion.
I might be crazy here but am I the only one that doesn't believe in existence? I don't believe I am alive right now, even though I can feel my heart beating. What if this is all an illusion and we don't really exist? Like in movies, when the protagonist opens a book and suddenly all the characters come to life and assume an identity of their own, not knowing they are actually non-existent. Life for them must feel just as real as it does for us, yet people can't even seem to consider the possibility that maybe this is all just an illusion or a dream even. I can't seem to fathom that me being here right now is real... how is that even possible? I don't really understand anything and maybe this is all just a waste of time for my silly brain... Either way, information is always a better path than ignorance. At least the way I see it.
What do you guys think?

 

[The Grey Man]

I've been studying Schopenhauer for a while now. This was a man who didn't "believe in existence," who in the natural world saw nothing but endless multiplicity and change. Like Kant, Plato, and Gautama before him, he thought that this world of mountains, lakes, and trees was all illusion, appearance, phenomena. The only thing that he considered real was his own will, which in desiring this and that in the world was constantly humiliated—as the Indians say, life is dukkha, incapable of satisfying. Schopenhauer believed in salvation from this cycle of suffering, but he himself was no Buddha—the only transcendence he claimed for himself was the temporary silencing of the will in contemplation of the opposition of the will to itself as objectified by the bellum omium contra omnes of nature.

A few hours ago, I had a dream that I was being pursued by a great bear through a grey forest. At times, I could feel the warmth of the bear's breath on my bare back and, as it were, a pretaste of the unspeakable agony of his claws rending my soft flesh; at other times, the bear was so distant that I could almost forget the mortal danger that he presented; but at all times I knew that the bear would never tire, and that there was no way out of this dismal hell except through his jaws. Who, then, was my enemy? Was it the bear, or the fear that kept me from ending my torment by relinquishing my self-will?

The bear was gone. The forest was gone. I was gone. All that remained was—I can't describe it. The laughter of the Devil in eternity? Christ on the cross? Is this the transcendence of which Schopenhauer spoke? Did I glimpse a Platonic idea?

How rational are my pretensions and yet how irrational these thoughts!

 

[lightfire]

I exist, its not something I have ever questioned before.

 

[Cognisant]

A few hours ago, I had a dream that I was being pursued by a great bear through a grey forest. At times, I could feel the warmth of the bear's breath on my bare back and, as it were, a pretaste of the unspeakable agony of his claws rending my soft flesh; at other times, the bear was so distant that I could almost forget the mortal danger that he presented; but at all times I knew that the bear would never tire, and that there was no way out of this dismal hell except through his jaws. Who, then, was my enemy? Was it the bear, or the fear that kept me from ending my torment by relinquishing my self-will?

Beautiful, I like how the bear is both literally and metaphorically death.

The bear was gone. The forest was gone. I was gone. All that remained was—I can't describe it. The laughter of the Devil in eternity? Christ on the cross? Is this the transcendence of which Schopenhauer spoke? Did I glimpse a Platonic idea?

Killing yourself (or simply allowing yourself to die) would solve all of life's problems, it's clearly the most logical solution from a nihilistic/fatalistic perspective, but is that what you (your ego) wants?

I might be crazy here but am I the only one that doesn't believe in existence? I don't believe I am alive right now, even though I can feel my heart beating. What if this is all an illusion and we don't really exist? Like in movies, when the protagonist opens a book and suddenly all the characters come to life and assume an identity of their own, not knowing they are actually non-existent. Life for them must feel just as real as it does for us, yet people can't even seem to consider the possibility that maybe this is all just an illusion or a dream even. I can't seem to fathom that me being here right now is real... how is that even possible? I don't really understand anything and maybe this is all just a waste of time for my silly brain...

There seems to be some confusion about whether you're talking about reality or yourself, if you don't think reality's real that's just solipsism/foolishness.

As for there being no real inherent self I think about that a lot.
I haven't really got any insights to share.

 

[caitlinwaters]

I exist, its not something I have ever questioned before.

I simply cannot imagine not questioning these little discrepancies in life. They are things that consume my mind and I can't relieve myself of my everlasting desire to understand and to know everything, although I know that is impossible. I just simply hate not knowing. You're very lucky for not having these kinds of thoughts, or maybe you're just smart enough to not let it grow too deep. Either way, how can you be so unruffled? (I dont mean this in an offensive way whatsoever, I actually find it very cool)

 

[caitlinwaters]

I've been studying Schopenhauer for a while now. This was a man who didn't "believe in existence," who in the natural world saw nothing but endless multiplicity and change. Like Kant, Plato, and Gautama before him, he thought that this world of mountains, lakes, and trees was all illusion, appearance, phenomena. The only thing that he considered real was his own will, which in desiring this and that in the world was constantly humiliated—as the Indians say, life is dukkha, incapable of satisfying. Schopenhauer believed in salvation from this cycle of suffering, but he himself was no Buddha—the only transcendence he claimed for himself was the temporary silencing of the will in contemplation of the opposition of the will to itself as objectified by the bellum omium contra omnes of nature.

A few hours ago, I had a dream that I was being pursued by a great bear through a grey forest. At times, I could feel the warmth of the bear's breath on my bare back and, as it were, a pretaste of the unspeakable agony of his claws rending my soft flesh; at other times, the bear was so distant that I could almost forget the mortal danger that he presented; but at all times I knew that the bear would never tire, and that there was no way out of this dismal hell except through his jaws. Who, then, was my enemy? Was it the bear, or the fear that kept me from ending my torment by relinquishing my self-will?

The bear was gone. The forest was gone. I was gone. All that remained was—I can't describe it. The laughter of the Devil in eternity? Christ on the cross? Is this the transcendence of which Schopenhauer spoke? Did I glimpse a Platonic idea?

How rational are my pretensions and yet how irrational these thoughts!

Beautiful. I can totally relate. Even though I rationalize most things, my mind is filled with irrational thoughts that most people rule as 'crazy'. All I can say is, it's nice to feel like I'm not the only one who has these thoughts.

 

[Ex-User (14663)]

Well, let me quote a classic: I think, therefore I am.

I sometimes have the opposite experience – from time to time, an intense feeling of physical existence, along with the pulsating blood in my veins, the passage of light through my corneas, and the myriad of electrical signals in my brain. Sounds trippy, no? But of course, most of the time I go about my business of everyday living like any other man in the street – finding various dumb audio-visual stimuli, thinking about what to buy for dinner, answering emails, etc

 

[lightfire]

I exist, its not something I have ever questioned before.

I simply cannot imagine not questioning these little discrepancies in life. They are things that consume my mind and I can't relieve myself of my everlasting desire to understand and to know everything, although I know that is impossible. I just simply hate not knowing. You're very lucky for not having these kinds of thoughts, or maybe you're just smart enough to not let it grow too deep. Either way, how can you be so unruffled? (I dont mean this in an offensive way whatsoever, I actually find it very cool)

I have questioned numerous other things in life such as its purpose and my purpose/role in it, but not whether I exist or not. I guess I am fascinated that people question whether they exist or not.

 

[onesteptwostep]

This topic is ironic because, if you don't exist, and thus others are just figments of your nonexistent imagination, how are you nonchalantly having discourse with nonexistent other minds without critical application of your own idea?

See how blatantly irrational you are? Having a discourse in itself means you are subconsciously acknowledging other's existence, and thus your own, since personal faculties are needed to understand the other's point of view/argumentation.

 

[caitlinwaters]

You're probably right, but my point is, how can you know ? What if the fact that we are non existent actually changes everything? What if your imagination isn't what you think it is and if YOU aren't what you think you are? What if there is no such thing as imagination? Isn't there a tiny piece of you who isn't a 100% sure? Isn't there a tiny possibility that since we don't exist, there's actually a whole book of rules that determine everything in this outside world that could make absolutely no sense to what we're aware of today? All I can say is that the one thing I am absolutely sure of is that I don't know anything. There is no way that we know if we exist or if we're just lifeless puppets. Fiction is fiction and stories are stories. But how can you be 100% sure of reality? Life is irrational. No matter how much I try to rationalize it, somethings will always stay out of my scope and I will never understand them no matter how much I try. That is what I meant, that I'm not sure of anything.

Sent from my SM-N950W using Tapatalk

 

[onesteptwostep]

How old are you? If you're interested in these kinds of questions, I would suggest looking into a philosophical field called epistemology, which deals with how we acquire knowledge, of ideas and things, of existence and so on.

For example, what would constitute as proof of something that for sure makes sure that you know you exist? I would suggest reading up or looking at a video exploring Descartes' Meditations.

 

[Pizzabeak]

This topic is ironic because, if you don't exist, and thus others are just figments of your nonexistent imagination, how are you nonchalantly having discourse with nonexistent other minds without critical application of your own idea?

Just because you can't conceive of how something operates, doesn't mean no one else can or that it isn't beyond your comprehension. How would it not be like a dream where ghosts in shells can be there walking around?

See how blatantly irrational you are? Having a discourse in itself means you are subconsciously acknowledging other's existence, and thus your own, since personal faculties are needed to understand the other's point of view/argumentation.

I see how irrational you are and how "intelligent" you think you are, as some source exuding only misery and a desire to cry that you're the best.

How old are you? If you're interested in these kinds of questions, I would suggest looking into a philosophical field called epistemology, which deals with how we acquire knowledge, of ideas and things, of existence and so on.

For example, what would constitute as proof of something that for sure makes sure that you know you exist? I would suggest reading up or looking at a video exploring Descartes' Meditations.

That's not what epistemology is, epistemology more so is the knowledge of knowledge. You're thinking of empiricism.

Epiphenomenalism suggests the mind is a side effect of the physical and under that belief, mind phenomena don't affect the physical. There's no reason to hold priority of that over other systems, though. There's also physicalism (like monism), idealism (only what's in your head is "real") - then duality or non-duality (people get really happy when they learn about that). Either way, personal identity is really important. Feelings, or the way events in the mind strike people, such as feeling hungry or experiencing the sting of jealousy, is important insofar as things can only occur as reactions or cause & effect.

 

[onesteptwostep]

No, I'm pretty sure it's epistemology. Empiricism is a branch of epistemology, that our knowledge is only acquired by the senses.

I'm afraid you're categorically, flat out wrong.

 

[Pizzabeak]

No, I'm pretty sure it's epistemology. Empiricism is a branch of epistemology, that our knowledge is only acquired by the senses.

I'm afraid you're categorically, flat out wrong.

Not really. This is simply approaching pedantry, and you can’t argue with my other points. You are wrong.
Epistemology is as I’ve said, the knowledge of knowledge. What you described is empiricism, which is how we acquire knowledge. You are flat out not a native English speaker. waits for your next response

 

[onesteptwostep]

I'm glad we've established that you're just here to troll.

 

[Pizzabeak]

I'm glad we've established that you're just here to troll.

Stop projecting your feelings on to me.

 

[Gui0621]

I've just had an overwhelming revelation...I feel as if I'm wandering into space not knowing what's really real or an illusion.
I might be crazy here but am I the only one that doesn't believe in existence? I don't believe I am alive right now, even though I can feel my heart beating. What if this is all an illusion and we don't really exist? Like in movies, when the protagonist opens a book and suddenly all the characters come to life and assume an identity of their own, not knowing they are actually non-existent. Life for them must feel just as real as it does for us, yet people can't even seem to consider the possibility that maybe this is all just an illusion or a dream even. I can't seem to fathom that me being here right now is real... how is that even possible? I don't really understand anything and maybe this is all just a waste of time for my silly brain... Either way, information is always a better path than ignorance. At least the way I see it.
What do you guys think?

So this is what happens here