Introduction: Theories of Reality
There are many theories that have been proposed and supported by researchers in the area of metaphysics. Materialism is the one where everything in the world is directly connected to matter. Everything in this world is material and is made up of materials. Therefore, the human body and mind are also material. This would have its spirits driven for reproduction or sustenance when hungry and so on. All the requirements that a person identifies himself to, are materialistic.
Idealism on the other hand visualizes the entire world as something pictured by the mind. Everything is an idea in the minds of the people; the world, the animals, and the entire universe. It is considered as something unreal and could vanish at any given point in time. Maya or magic as the Hindu doctrine calls it. Whereas there are others who believe in the differentiation of mind and body; they exist as separate entities. Most religious entities support this concept of isolation between mind and body and that they are different and exist in different planes.
On the other hand, Post Modernism views the existence of multiple ideas at the same time. There can be more than one truth to a problem. What is right and what is wrong is not dependent on the object of interest or on the methods of justice, but in the eyes of the perceiver. It is the mind and the state of the perceiver which makes the person draw any concluding solution to the reality issue at hand. But ideally according to Post Modern view, there is no solution to reality problems. There are multiple realities existing at the same time and the human mind is still not fit to comprehend the size of the problem.
What is real?
Most of the theories are wrought out with the thoughts of men constrained by the activities and scientific thought available at those times. With the passage of time and with the availability of more direct knowledge, there are lots of variations in the understanding of what makes up reality. What is real, does not depend on what is the final state of matter that every being in this world might really become. But the final state whether it is the faith in ghost or soul or it is just vanishing into the materialistic nature of the world, it could be the revealer of the truth to the mankind. But since there is no one person who has come back from death to let us know what is really happening, it is hard to tell what reality is.
Reality is something that is highly impossible for the human mind to comprehend and understand as the post modernistic view points out. This can also be pointed out using some of the other methods employed in terms of the Clock work rule. In a clock, the manufacturer knows what goes into it. He also knows that he does not insert a screw or a miniscule metal component that is not really required by the clock. The same way to expect the nature to have any redundancy in its work built in is largely wrong. There can only be those components to the large nature clock that goes around as sun and moon and earth, will have their own way of identifying what the other one is doing. But at the same time, it is very difficult for the components of this system to know what the whole system is doing. For instance, as a whole we the manufacturer of the clock would know that the purpose of the clock is to show time. But for the spring or a gear wheel inside to know that the purpose of the clock is to show time, might take millions of years to realize. In any case, reality when you are a part of it is highly difficult to identify and understand.
I think that the reality is impossible to visualized or identified with the current knowledge levels that we possess. In scientific terms, only those that can be proved to exist are taken as ‘existing’; whether it is the black hole or the hot core of the earth. To prove, it has to be ‘sensed’. Human perception can sense more than what it is rated to by using microscopes or RF telescopes or radars, etc. Devices built by man could make him sense more than what his five senses could offer. Anything is proven only if it is sensed to exist. This sensing could happen using any device that man might identify today or might identify in days to come. My view on it is entirely post modernist.
Multiple Realities
The existence of multiple realities is not without questions. Multiple realities exist only in the minds of men and women. For the same object, there could be multiple realities and there could be more than one true reality too as visualization. In reality, there is no one single rule or law that governs what one has to visualize or see in the realism. Reality for the person is as per his visualization; though the reality is of course, one for him. As presented by Schrodinger with his famous cat experiment or by Everett, the impact of mind on quantum mechanics is mathematically derivable. This also implies that there is a possibility of multiple universes and therefore, a possibility of multiple realities decided by individual minds. When the Schrodinger Cat is poisoned using a quantum event, according to Everett the universe splits into two copies, “one containing a live cat and the other a dead cat. Both universes contain one copy of the experimenter too, each of whom thinks he is unique. In general, if a quantum system is in a superposition of, say, n quantum states, then, on measurement, the universe will split into n copies. In most cases, n is infinite. Hence we must accept that there are actually an infinity of ‘parallel worlds’ co-existing alongside the one we see at any instant. Moreover, there are an infinity of individuals, more or less identical with each of us, inhabiting these worlds. It is a bizarre thought”. Why should such forking occur? We do not know. Or is it really happening? We do not have an answer.
There can be more than one reality in terms of the views had by people on the reality. As a matter of fact, there is also the concept that a green color perceived by you could be different from the green perceived by me. There can of course, be only one reality as it exists for every individual. For instance, there can be only one earth but the reality as seen by various people could be different from one another. The Moon might be perceived as a God by some. Moon could just be a natural satellite of Earth for scientifically minded. But there is but only one Moon. This is the existence of reality. There can be only one of them. But there can be multiple thought processes and visualizations that are manifestations of this reality in every person.
But the information and knowledge that we possess today is grossly insufficient to establish multiple realities without any doubt.
The Real Reality
If so, what makes the real reality? The reality that every one has in their mind could be different from one another. There can be multiple realities or visualized realities. But the realization of the real reality could happen only if there is substantial information available on the issue under question. For example, Earth is flat is no more a question or a concept. It has been answered with clarity that Earth is spherical. Anyone who is arguing today that Earth is flat can be disproved that their concept is wrong.
So is the case with other realities too. Until the truth and the facts of the case are clear it is difficult to determine which of these visualizations is the true reality or whether the multiple realities themselves are true. Therefore, it is only fair that all the reality issues are held in abeyance till all the facts of the matter are clearly known. Secondly, there can also be cases where the reality itself even after the existence is established, might be perceived by different people at different angles. These cannot be helped since every person might have their view of the existence. This is influenced by the individuals thought process and his faith. Multiple realities are acceptable as a mode to solve conflicts. Every person can have his or her own visualization of the reality and need not necessarily interfere with the other or force it on the other. To this extent, multiple realities may be accepted. However, no conflict resolution would solve the case of the reality. It is also to be noted that existence of reality has little or no impact on the normal survival of the human beings as of date.
Conclusion
Based on our discussions in the previous sections we could come to the following conclusions:
- One reality or multiple realities, the information available today has little or no clear evidence to prove beyond doubt either of the cases. However, everyone can have their own version and they can co exist.
- The true reality is difficult to perceive with the knowledge that mankind has today. More information and research is needed to identify and find the reality / realities in all its dimensions.
- We should stay open to ideas and concepts.