Are Other People Conscious?
Alright people, I've got a doozy of a question for you all. I was doing some searching through some philosophical websites (for you guys, but also it's good to do deep thinking every once and a while) and I found a lot of interesting topics to discuss. So, I shouldn't have many more days without a topic. You're welcome. Alright, and now the question of the day: Is it possible to prove that other people besides yourself have consciousness?
Sonder
n. The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own - populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness - an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you'll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.
This beautiful definition above is of an often overlooked aspect of life. I've often wondered this myself - to me, everyone else is nothing more than a background character in my life, but if all humans have their own experiences, am I nothing more than a side character in someone else's life?
It's a thought that can be both amazingly interesting, and mind-shatteringly depressing. If you're nothing more than background, then why try to do anything interesting?
I know I'm asking a lot of different questions, but that's what this main topic causes to happen. Trying to explain human consciousness is one of the most difficult feats in psychology. Mainly because there's no perfect way to test this other than first-person accounts. You can't literally "put yourself in someone else's shoes" and experience their life. That's why this question has stumped philosophers for hundreds of years.
Going back to the simulation theory I discussed in an earlier post, how can you know if everyone else isn't just part of a simulation with you as the only real person. With video games being as advanced as they are, you can play a game like Skyrim or The Witcher III and speak with any NPC (non-player character). These NPC's will all have long, and detailed backstories to tell you. There are some older games like Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask where NPC's have schedules to keep and businesses to run. When you run through the world you may or may not run into different NPC's at a place they were a few hours before. They've moved on because they're constantly moving on a schedule. If you take these concepts and apply them to your life it can make you question whether or not other people are actually conscious, or just programmed to appear that way.
One question I've always thought regarding this topic is: Do people see the same colors? When I see the color red it looks red, and you would agree that it is red. But, does your version of red look like my version of blue? That's where it gets confusing because you can't really describe colors. A person that is partially color-blind can still distinguish between colors. I see red, but the color-blind person may see it as a darker shade of gray, but know it is red. Do you understand a little better? We call the colors the same because no matter how we "see" them, that color was labelled to be that color. I hope things aren't getting too complicated, but that's how it is when philosophers and scientists try to figure this phenomenon out.
This topic is more about "realization" than anything else. It’s something that everyone knows, we all know that other people exist and have lives, but it’s the complexity of those lives. The sudden…realization, is a way to put it but not quite, that other people get up, think random thoughts, speak to others and feel something that you’ve felt before but at different points in their lives and most of the time in no connection with you. That is what I feel every once in a while when I’m walking down the street. Words cannot accurately describe this feeling of “realization”.
It’s an epiphany of thought; an enlargement of the mind and of one’s awareness. I’ve experienced the epiphany periodically since I was very young, probably around six (I was a weird child. Now I’m a weird adult) and I can honestly say that epiphany feeling stays with me for about 3-4 days, and then it passes out of thought again until the next time. Every time it comes up again, it’s just as extraordinary as the first time I had the realization.
So, why do we ask this question at all? How is it that we can even be aware of everything and everyone else in the world besides ourselves? I haven't the slightest idea. No one has a clear answer yet. Isn't that amazing?? No one knows why it happens, it just does. I love the fact that no one knows. It's another mystery for humans to ponder over for forever. Life is no fun when there are answers for everything. This topic makes me think of one of my quotes, "Every villain is the hero of his own story." It's a simple statement to remember for storytelling, but I think if you change the word "villain" with "person" it really adds some serious depth to how to perceive the world.
Beware, and maybe I should've put this warning up above before I really dove into all this: this kind of thinking can lead to uneasy and anxious feelings. The term "existential crisis" shows up when thoughts like this appear. But don't worry, all it takes is a few slow breaths, and don't freak out. Don't think of this as a I'm-nothing-but-an-insignificant-speck thought, think about it as if you and everyone else in the world all living in a unified story of overlapping stories. And remember, every person is the hero of their own story.
I hope you all enjoyed this thought discussion. Did I freak anyone out too bad? If I did, oh well. Take some breaths like I said. And I'll see you all tomorrow.
Buh-bye.
Sonder
n. The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own - populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness - an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you'll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.
This beautiful definition above is of an often overlooked aspect of life. I've often wondered this myself - to me, everyone else is nothing more than a background character in my life, but if all humans have their own experiences, am I nothing more than a side character in someone else's life?
It's a thought that can be both amazingly interesting, and mind-shatteringly depressing. If you're nothing more than background, then why try to do anything interesting?
I know I'm asking a lot of different questions, but that's what this main topic causes to happen. Trying to explain human consciousness is one of the most difficult feats in psychology. Mainly because there's no perfect way to test this other than first-person accounts. You can't literally "put yourself in someone else's shoes" and experience their life. That's why this question has stumped philosophers for hundreds of years.
Going back to the simulation theory I discussed in an earlier post, how can you know if everyone else isn't just part of a simulation with you as the only real person. With video games being as advanced as they are, you can play a game like Skyrim or The Witcher III and speak with any NPC (non-player character). These NPC's will all have long, and detailed backstories to tell you. There are some older games like Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask where NPC's have schedules to keep and businesses to run. When you run through the world you may or may not run into different NPC's at a place they were a few hours before. They've moved on because they're constantly moving on a schedule. If you take these concepts and apply them to your life it can make you question whether or not other people are actually conscious, or just programmed to appear that way.
One question I've always thought regarding this topic is: Do people see the same colors? When I see the color red it looks red, and you would agree that it is red. But, does your version of red look like my version of blue? That's where it gets confusing because you can't really describe colors. A person that is partially color-blind can still distinguish between colors. I see red, but the color-blind person may see it as a darker shade of gray, but know it is red. Do you understand a little better? We call the colors the same because no matter how we "see" them, that color was labelled to be that color. I hope things aren't getting too complicated, but that's how it is when philosophers and scientists try to figure this phenomenon out.
This topic is more about "realization" than anything else. It’s something that everyone knows, we all know that other people exist and have lives, but it’s the complexity of those lives. The sudden…realization, is a way to put it but not quite, that other people get up, think random thoughts, speak to others and feel something that you’ve felt before but at different points in their lives and most of the time in no connection with you. That is what I feel every once in a while when I’m walking down the street. Words cannot accurately describe this feeling of “realization”.
It’s an epiphany of thought; an enlargement of the mind and of one’s awareness. I’ve experienced the epiphany periodically since I was very young, probably around six (I was a weird child. Now I’m a weird adult) and I can honestly say that epiphany feeling stays with me for about 3-4 days, and then it passes out of thought again until the next time. Every time it comes up again, it’s just as extraordinary as the first time I had the realization.
So, why do we ask this question at all? How is it that we can even be aware of everything and everyone else in the world besides ourselves? I haven't the slightest idea. No one has a clear answer yet. Isn't that amazing?? No one knows why it happens, it just does. I love the fact that no one knows. It's another mystery for humans to ponder over for forever. Life is no fun when there are answers for everything. This topic makes me think of one of my quotes, "Every villain is the hero of his own story." It's a simple statement to remember for storytelling, but I think if you change the word "villain" with "person" it really adds some serious depth to how to perceive the world.
Beware, and maybe I should've put this warning up above before I really dove into all this: this kind of thinking can lead to uneasy and anxious feelings. The term "existential crisis" shows up when thoughts like this appear. But don't worry, all it takes is a few slow breaths, and don't freak out. Don't think of this as a I'm-nothing-but-an-insignificant-speck thought, think about it as if you and everyone else in the world all living in a unified story of overlapping stories. And remember, every person is the hero of their own story.
I hope you all enjoyed this thought discussion. Did I freak anyone out too bad? If I did, oh well. Take some breaths like I said. And I'll see you all tomorrow.
Buh-bye.
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