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coberst
27th October 2006, 06:12 AM
Objectivity is shared subjectivity


Everything we perceive is dependent upon our biological nature and reality has meaning only in what our sense and perception biology provide us. Real for me is only what I perceive to be real.

Someone said that objectivity is shared subjectivity; this phrase resonates for me; really. What we can say about reality is based upon our shared objectivity, it does not say anything significant about reality in-it-self, except in its constancy, but it is significant in that we humans share it universally; it is reality-for-humans

Each different comprehension of a situation provides a commitment to what is real about a situation. Each such real commitment is a version of a commitment to truth.

The arts and the sciences endeavor to discover and communicate to the world the meaning of reality. There came a time in the evolution of the human psychic when we became semantic creatures; we discovered the power of symbolic representation of events. Art focuses on the inner reality of the subject whereas science focused on the reality that was external to the subject.

“From this traditionalist standpoint information and the perception of meaning in the information is the central content of both arts and sciences. Hence when we speak of progress in the arts and sciences we can really refer to only one thing, namely that progress is taking place as long as the sum total of meaningful artistic and scientific statements waxes.” “The Coming of the Golden Age” by Gunther Stent

What we mean by “real” is what we need to postulate conceptually in order to be realistic, i.e., in order to function successfully to survive, to achieve ends, and to arrive at a workable understanding of the situation we are in. (Example—“verb”, “concept”, “image schema”, “energy” “charge”—none can be directly observed but play a crucial role in our understanding). “Philosophy in the Flesh”

UndercoverElephant
27th October 2006, 06:23 AM
It's called "intersubjectivity".

Geoff

Beerina
27th October 2006, 07:34 AM
Everything we perceive is dependent upon our biological nature and reality has meaning only in what our sense and perception biology provide us. Real for me is only what I perceive to be real.

Test that theory by walking off a cliff and see if you actually cease to exist, subjectively.

Hint: You'd be surprised how few philosophers are willing to test this.

skeptic griggsy
27th October 2006, 07:36 AM
:) Coberst is so right!

RandFan
27th October 2006, 10:20 AM
Test that theory by walking off a cliff and see if you actually cease to exist, subjectively.

Hint: You'd be surprised how few philosophers are willing to test this. I like the locked room experiment. We lock the doubter into a room without food, water or toilet. Most people would be soon disabused of such notions. Perception and or reality has a profound way of letting us know that regardless of the validity of reality we have little or no control so we might just as well act as if reality is valid because in the end we don't have a choice.

skeptic griggsy
28th October 2006, 01:56 PM
We are the believers in reality while the others are the believers in unrealty . We are the rationalists, they the "irrationalists. Logic is the bane of theists.Onward naturalist inquirers.

Cosmo
28th October 2006, 01:59 PM
We are the believers in reality while the others are the believers in unrealty . We are the rationalists, they the "irrationalists. Logic is the bane of theists.Onward naturalist inquirers.

I don't think the world is nearly as black-and-white as you'd have it to be.

skeptic griggsy
28th October 2006, 02:01 PM
We are the believers in reality while the others are the believers in unrealty . We are the rationalists, they the "irrationalists". Logic is the bane of theists.Onward naturalist inquirers. As the Englishman states:religion is mythinformation.

Tricky
28th October 2006, 02:56 PM
Today is only yesterday's tomorrow.
----Uriah Heep

andyandy
28th October 2006, 03:04 PM
. As the Englishman states:religion is mythinformation.

which Englishman? All of them?

skeptic griggsy
28th October 2006, 05:55 PM
No, I mean in reference to religion. Actually, many religious are quite rational otherwise and some non-theists are irrational about the paranormal . I use naturalist,rationalist and skeptic in preference to non-theistic terms as to show atheism does not mean one clear of nonsense . The Englishman is some bloke at the Guardian Unlimited . Yes , grey runs through life.