Solipsism and the Problem
of Other Minds
Solipsism is sometimes expressed as the view that “I am the only
mind which exists,” or “My mental states are the only mental states.”
However, the sole survivor of a nuclear holocaust might truly come to
believe in either of these propositions without thereby being a
solipsist. Solipsism is therefore more properly regarded as the doctrine
that, in principle, “existence” means for me my existence and that of my
mental states. Existence is everything that I experience — physical
objects, other people, events and processes — anything that would
commonly be regarded as a constituent of the space and time in which I
coexist with others and is necessarily construed by me as part of the
content of my consciousness.
For the solipsist, it is not merely the case that he believes that his
thoughts, experiences, and emotions are, as a matter of contingent fact,
the only thoughts, experiences, and emotions. Rather, the solipsist can
attach no meaning to the supposition that there could be thoughts,
experiences, and emotions other than his own. In short, the true
solipsist understands the word “pain,” for example, to mean “my pain.”
He cannot accordingly conceive how this word is to be applied in any
sense other than this exclusively egocentric one.http://www.iep.utm.edu/solipsis/




"Drunk at the matinee" is a collection of candid poetry about stupid shit that we all experience from day to day.




No comments:
Post a Comment