The Reality-Consciousness Argument

Nobody has been able to define reality with any degree of clarity in almost 2,500 years. Language and assertions are required for the definition of reality. To define something,’ it must be in the situation of being either true or untrue; the two are mutually exclusive. As a result, there can be no truth in the absence of its polar opposite (untruth). Language is not synonymous with reality, just as a map is not synonymous with an area. A map only denotes the reality to which consciousness is being directed. Similarly, a menu is not the meal, however it does assist in determining what to order.

Trying to regain consciousness. Without consciousness, there is no such thing as reality in any of the forms we might imagine it to take. Consciousness permits us to see’ what is in front of us. Even prior to the emergence of language. This skill is shared by the majority of higher mammals. This is the true nature of basic thought as far as we can understand it. The fundamental mind is the capacity to be conscious in the absence of language and so the ability to reflect – as we do through our ability to employ abstract symbols called language. While animals do not reflect or think in the same way as humans do, we share this fundamental mind set throughout our lives. Each day, we encounter it as we react emotionally to an event or condition. There is no thought; only a physical response to pleasure or pain, wrath or joy. None of this is deliberate, though we may later reflect on our experience and verbalise it.

Returning to reality. Reality is not a single entity, but a collection of entities. There are as many possible meanings as there are people on the earth. While social members exhibit a high degree of conformity, this is primarily due to language and education (and indoctrination – not necessarily negative indoctrination, but indoctrination nonetheless), and as a result, certain ‘ideas’ are fed to us primarily through indoctrination and almost always unconsciously via conditioning, both mentally and physically, throughout our development as huma.

Thus, language is required for us to even consider reality; otherwise, like animals, we are just submerged in it (reality). Thus, our experience is the result of a dynamic interaction with our surroundings. It is not linear (as language would have us believe), but loopy, constantly involved in feedback and reaction throughout our entire existence. It primarily comprised affect (emotional reaction to events) and affordance. Affordance refers to our ability to engage with our environment(s) and respond positively or negatively to any given event. Thus, when we encounter a rock that is precisely the proper height, we “know” we can sit on it or stand on it to view further, or we can hide behind it in a game of hide and seek. Thus, affordance implies that both humans and animals may instantly “know” how to use items in their environments – of course, we learnt to use and know our environments via participation in them and learning how to act and use particular elements through affordances. (However, we cannot tell with precision how animals learn.) We make use of these circumstances to our advantage or detriment (Affordances may enable us to choose beneficial things or reject things that are incompatible with our desires).

Reality as you or I experience it on a daily basis is not reality in and of itself. It is an interpretation of what is “out there” as seen through the lens of a fixed position and a preconceived point of view – your point of view. Our senses and language are both limited, as is our education, or lack thereof. However, it helps us to function in this world, and in particular to engage in relatively efficient interactions with our surroundings and social partners (most of the time). Thus, even if we do not ‘get’ precisely what reality is, we can nevertheless thrive and flourish in the world as we know it.