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[Rm88~]

First of all, Wikipedia's definition of solipsism:

Solipsism is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist.

So it's pretty much the philosophy/belief that, because you can't experience as others, you're the only one to exist. And everyone and everything else is just product of your imagination.

See, I have to admit, I was reading about it yesterday and it wasn't a good idea. I was not feeling very good because of some personal problems, and now I feel like I 'caught' a bit of solipsism. The point is, I don't actually believe it, but it's so hard to disprove to me that, not feeling my best, it's affected me a bit in the sense that I've been recurrently thinking about it. This is not a first, though, anxiety has been a problem for me in the past - I've been anxious about having cancer, diabetes or tetanus. Lol.

Okay, so I already made it too personal. Do you guys think solipsism can be disproved? Here's my reasoning:

- It may be hard to disprove, but it's also impossible to prove.
- It ultimately creates tons of questions instead of answers, it's just completely impractical.

And a quote from here:

Can we not use the “lack of ability to disprove claim” in reverse though? If you are going to claim 99% of this reality is fake, does that not take more faith than just believing it is all real?

So, what's your opinion on this?

[ClydeArgyle]

How did my mind invent rules that I can't understand (e.g. advanced physics)?

[im9today]

god is real.

[ortoslon]

http://lesswrong.com/lw/of/dissolving_the_question/

[The Monster King]

my opinion is that im too cool for you guys to imagine

[Nix]

I don't think that the idea is that no one but yourself exists, but that you can't be sure that anyone else exists. It's impossible to know. I believe that this is one of those things that goes so deep into the human existence that it is both impossible to prove or disprove, and exploring it will never lead anyone anywhere but in philosophical circles that are impossible to escape. That is why religion exists.

[moi]

How did my mind invent rules that I can't understand (e.g. advanced physics)?

Because your mind is smarter than you are, you're just a tiny part of your mind

[thatshelby]

No.

[Rm88~]

Because your mind is smarter than you are, you're just a tiny part of your mind

Why? How would you know that?

How can you prove that you are not an illusion of some other guy instead of being the protagonist? Why do I create other people? If I can create people, why can't I create other things or change my reality? Man, it really creates tons of questions that can't possibly be answered. And it's ultimately not trusting your senses, which are the only tool we have to perceive 'reality'.

And it's very arrogant to believe I single-handedly created all the knowledge in the world. I wish I could be a decent programmer/spriter.

[PaleFox]

It is in my reality

       I did it yesterday

[reetva]

Welcome to Philosophy 101.  Pro tip: Just say, "Fuck it."

[Rob Lach]

Of course you can. Just kill yourself, then reincarnate, then see if shit happened while you were away.

[Riley Adams]

But, but if someone posted a brilliant disproving of it, how could you know that it wasn't just your subconscious messing with you or whatever?... If the belief states that you basically can't trust anything to be real, I don't think anything can be proven from such a perspective....

[genka]

  - Daddy! Daddy! I'm a solipsist now! I don't have to listen to you!
  - Well alright then. I don't have to feed you.

Or, in the words of Samuel Johnson, I refute it thus!

PS: While you're busy thinking about solipsism, consider this: Descartes famously said that three things are self-evident: I think; I exist; God exists. In modern day pop-philosophy it's trendy to take this as "I think, therefore I am!" (Dropping God altogether).

With a bit of consideration, however, it's clear that "I think" is a bit of a stretch. To say "I think" you have to first assume there's an "I" to do the thinking, and that's not a small assumption. A much more self-evident statement is "there is a thought," which does not at all entail your existence. Saying "I can only be sure I exist, and the world around me may be a fabrication," then, is weak sauce.

So you see, solipsism is for newbs. Sunyata is where it's at.

[Nugsy]

More entertaining is the belief that we are all a giant simulation inside a computer.

Or that when you see a person in the street, and they walk around the corner - how can you really be sure they still exist, if you never went around the corner to see them again?

Mindfuck.