Solipsism

[Michael McMahon]

Solipsism Syndrome is "a psychological state in which a person feels that reality is not external to his or her mind". 

But is derealization/depersonalization related to this source of anxiety? Do they exist on a spectrum?

People who suffer from derealization say that they feel like they are in a dream. But what does that mean? Dreams obviously happen inside your own head. Therefore if you are in a dream, no one else exists. In a sense we can never know what another person is thinking. We can only infer they are conscious from their behaviour. So is derealization, with symptoms like perceptual and emotional abnormalities,  a result of anxiety-induced solipsism?

[iNow]

1 hour ago, Michael McMahon said:

is derealization, with symptoms like perceptual and emotional abnormalities,  a result of anxiety-induced solipsism?

I anticipate this answer feeling deeply unsatisfying, but in some cases yes they are and in other cases no they’re not. It will vary from one person to the next. 

Personally, I find solipsism absurd, and I’m no absurdist.

[koti]

1 hour ago, Michael McMahon said:

Solipsism Syndrome is "a psychological state in which a person feels that reality is not external to his or her mind". 

But is derealization/depersonalization related to this source of anxiety? Do they exist on a spectrum?

People who suffer from derealization say that they feel like they are in a dream. But what does that mean? Dreams obviously happen inside your own head. Therefore if you are in a dream, no one else exists. In a sense we can never know what another person is thinking. We can only infer they are conscious from their behaviour. So is derealization, with symptoms like perceptual and emotional abnormalities,  a result of anxiety-induced solipsism?

I think you're overthinking the issue. There's a sea of dicks out there and solipsists are swimming in it giving the pace. 

[Michael McMahon]

Solipsism would lead to loneliness and isolation. I don't think it's selfish.

[dimreepr]

17 hours ago, Michael McMahon said:

Solipsism would lead to loneliness and isolation.

That depends on the conclusion the solipsist reaches: 

Since I don't know, then fuck it, I'll play.

Since I don't know, then fuck you/it, give me my ball.

17 hours ago, Michael McMahon said:

I don't think it's selfish.

Selfish is a different question.

[FreeWill]

It is absolut selfish...some level of selfishness is necessary but this idea is not aligned with reality. 

I reject the idea of solophism.

Isn't it a mental state to believe in something like that? 

On 6/11/2019 at 12:52 AM, Michael McMahon said:

Solipsism Syndrome is "a psychological state in which a person feels that reality is not external to his or her mind". 

It is external 9.9999......9% and internal 0.00....01% which internal is actually part of the overall = 1.0...0! 

We are almost NOTHING without reality itself.

You just have to realize it. 

You are what you know.

A human can not know everything.

 

Edited June 12, 2019 by FreeWill

[Michael McMahon]

I’m just guessing but a possible challenge with empathy is to keep understanding that other people are dissimilar to you while at the same time being able to read their emotions by comparing them to and through yourself. We only experience our own emotions and that’s all we’ve got when we try to relate to others on an intuitive and personal level. In order to completely and emotionally understand others we first have to be emotionally self-aware of ourselves. To fully appreciate kindness and gratefulness we need to be ever cognisant that there’s an opposite emotion of anger and meanness. Even without an empathy deficit we’d always struggle to fully understand the mindset of evil unless we’re evil ourselves. We’d have to be infinite to truly understand every single persons cognitive makeup! What would your emotional state have to be if instead it were you that had said it in their exact manner? I suppose it’s somewhat of a balancing act. If they’re too separate and different from you then they’re simply incomprehensible and mysterious and can only be interpreted on a distant and rational level. Although if it becomes too easy to emotionally relate to them then one might misjudge them to form an inaccurate preconceived image without appreciating their changeability and unfamiliarity. It’s further complicated in the way that our personality doesn’t just exist in the present moment but is affected by each of our unique history which is largely unkowable unless they inform you of some of it. I notice we can learn a lot from people who have might have social traits that are the opposite of our own. There’s also the extent of people who we can empathise with. For example we can build up a mental picture of long-time friends and acquaintances. Or we can go a step further and try a bit to spiritually conceptualise the multitudes of strangers walking past us on the street. Another aspect I was thinking about is that society and culture changes radically through different generations and so psychological traits couldn’t be as genetically transferable as physical traits. For example an extrovert 200 years ago would've had very different metaphysical beliefs such that if they still alive today then maybe they'd be introverted. Thus how can extroversion be genetically passed down when much of a person's social confidence is related to the current culture? 

 

 

"Depersonalization can consist of a detachment within the self, regarding one's mind or body, or being a detached observer of oneself."

If someone feels detached from themselves then they'd probably struggle to relate to others who hold such a different metaphysical perspective. Therefore how connected would this symptom be to those with Aspergers or autism who struggle with social awareness? Is there some overlap sometimes? Derealisation in the short-term might cause anxiety but if left untreated could long-term derealisation be connected to schizophrenia? This would be in the sense that a belief that the world is unreal will eventually trickle-down and disturb the rest of their belief system. The longer the derealisation lasts the more they'd have to try to reconcile it with the rest of their memory and cognition. Perhaps derealisation and depersonalisation lead to different symptoms depending on how long they last for.

 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Michael McMahon

[dimreepr]

2 hours ago, Michael McMahon said:

I’m just guessing but a possible challenge with empathy is to keep understanding that other people are dissimilar to you while at the same time being able to read their emotions by comparing them to and through yourself. We only experience our own emotions and that’s all we’ve got when we try to relate to others on an intuitive and personal level. In order to completely and emotionally understand others we first have to be emotionally self-aware of ourselves. To fully appreciate kindness and gratefulness we need to be ever cognisant that there’s an opposite emotion of anger and meanness. Even without an empathy deficit we’d always struggle to fully understand the mindset of evil unless we’re evil ourselves. We’d have to be infinite to truly understand every single persons cognitive makeup! What would your emotional state have to be if instead it were you that had said it in their exact manner? I suppose it’s somewhat of a balancing act. If they’re too separate and different from you then they’re simply incomprehensible and mysterious and can only be interpreted on a distant and rational level. Although if it becomes too easy to emotionally relate to them then one might misjudge them to form an inaccurate preconceived image without appreciating their changeability and unfamiliarity. It’s further complicated in the way that our personality doesn’t just exist in the present moment but is affected by each of our unique history which is largely unkowable unless they inform you of some of it. I notice we can learn a lot from people who have might have social traits that are the opposite of our own. There’s also the extent of people who we can empathise with. For example we can build up a mental picture of long-time friends and acquaintances. Or we can go a step further and try a bit to spiritually conceptualise the multitudes of strangers walking past us on the street. Another aspect I was thinking about is that society and culture changes radically through different generations and so psychological traits couldn’t be as genetically transferable as physical traits. For example an extrovert 200 years ago would've had very different metaphysical beliefs such that if they still alive today then maybe they'd be introverted. Thus how can extroversion be genetically passed down when much of a person's social confidence is related to the current culture? 

 

 

"Depersonalization can consist of a detachment within the self, regarding one's mind or body, or being a detached observer of oneself."

If someone feels detached from themselves then they'd probably struggle to relate to others who hold such a different metaphysical perspective. Therefore how connected would this symptom be to those with Aspergers or autism who struggle with social awareness? Is there some overlap sometimes? Derealisation in the short-term might cause anxiety but if left untreated could long-term derealisation be connected to schizophrenia? This would be in the sense that a belief that the world is unreal will eventually trickle-down and disturb the rest of their belief system. The longer the derealisation lasts the more they'd have to try to reconcile it with the rest of their memory and cognition. Perhaps derealisation and depersonalisation lead to different symptoms depending on how long they last for.

 

That's an awful lot of word's to say nothing; we learn empathy from other's... 😉

[Michael McMahon]

On 10/22/2021 at 12:58 PM, dimreepr said:

That's an awful lot of word's to say nothing; we learn empathy from other's... 😉

Yes it's true that we learn social cues from others. I meant it more in the cognitive sense of "empathy" rather than the interactive and moral sense. In other words a spiritual understanding of others rather than an interpersonal one. There's a difficult and open-ended mind-body problem in philosophy and so there'll be a subjective element in how we comprehend others. In order to fully learn from others we first have to reach a threshold of shared understanding. If someone views my consciousness as part of my soul like religions do while others view me as part of a group like humanists would then we'll have difficulties in communication. Understanding everyday consciousness requires some non-religious faith beliefs that we hold without immediate physical evidence such as having trust that our memory is real. When these subconscious beliefs are impaired then it might limit their understanding not only of themselves but also of others.

A reduction in self-awareness will cause a proportionate decrease in awareness towards other people. If you're not self-aware then it follows that you can't be aware of others.

[dimreepr]

16 hours ago, Michael McMahon said:

A reduction in self-awareness will cause a proportionate decrease in awareness towards other people. If you're not self-aware then it follows that you can't be aware of others.

Within you without you - Beatles

Quote

 

We were talking about the space between us all
And the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse the truth
Then it's far too late
When they pass away
We were talking about the love we all could share
When we find it, to try our best to hold it there with our love
With our love, we could save the world, if they only knew

Try to realise it's all within yourself
No one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small
And life flows on within you and without you

We were talking about the love that's gone so cold
And the people who gain the world and lose their soul
They don't know
They can't see
Are you one of them?

When you've seen beyond yourself then you may find
Peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come when you see we're all one
And life flows on within you and without you