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Common Sense Science | Philosophy of Reality

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Philosophy of Reality
Common Sense Reality
Most people think that physical objects are real and that they exist
independent of human contemplation. Objects do not change depending
upon our thoughts about them. They exist objectively whether or not we
think about them, observe them, measure them, or ignore them. The
"common sense" philosophy has always been around, but it was
articulated by 18th century Moderates in response to the destructive
Enlightenment philosophies of John Locke and David Hume. The
Moderates "rejected John Locke's radical doctrine of ideas because they
recognized that 'everyone believes that a real world exists beyond our
minds and imaginations and that we can truly know things about the
world around us.' Even skeptics and relativists duck when they go
through low doorways."

Vedantic Philosophy - The World of Ideas

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The ancient and modern Eastern religious philosophy of reality tells us

that reality is subjective, consisting of ideas and perceptions. Dreams
seem very real when we are asleep, but upon awakening we realize that
what seemed so real when we were dreaming was only in the mind. After
pointing this out, the Vedantic philosopher claims that we can also be
fooled when we are awake, and we don't ever really know for sure what
is real. So, he concludes, it is our thoughts and mental images that are
important, since everything else may only be an illusion.

Quantum Reality
In the Western world, the leading physicists advocate one or more of the
eight forms of quantum reality, with most holding to the Copenhagen
Interpretation that There is no deep reality. "The Copenhagen
interpretation properly consists of two distinct parts: 1. There is no
reality in the absence of observation; 2. Observation creates reality. `You
create your own reality....' " As stated by a much honored professor of
Quantum Theory, "We now know the moon is demonstrably not there
when nobody looks." This is not merely hyperbole; "Physicists do not put
forth these quantum realities as science fiction speculations concerning
worlds that might have been, but as serious pictures of the one world we
actually live in: the universe outside your door."

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