Cognito Ergo Sum

For the first time in a long time, I finally have a chance to think and not worry about something. I'm actually able to enjoy a long weekend! Ever since I talked about AI, I've always wanted to sit down and think about what I think is true and figure out what I believe based on faith. Not to be too cliche, but whenever I philosophize, I try to follow Descartes' example and presume I know nothing.

"Cognito ergo sum" - Latin for "I think; therefore, I am"

To start thing off, I do agree with Descartes in that, "I think; therefore, I am". While I have read about some philosophers disagreeing with this, like Descartes I do consider this a fundamental truth. The simple fact that I can think must mean that I must exist in some capacity even if the rest of reality is an illusion.

I don't think your average person questions the very notion of reality, but I first pondered this notion after watching The Matrix (which is virtually a guarantee to be brought up in any intro philosophy class). This very questioning of reality also has implications with science since we generally will agree that something we observe is an undeniable fact. Science is really just a methodology of coming to the best explanation versus a pursuit of absolute truth. Regardless, there are at least three definitions of reality in the philosophical sense.

The first definition is perhaps the most inherent. Reality is composed of physical things, and we interact with those things whether we realize it or not. There is literally a keyboard that I am typing on, and there is literally a computer screen that you are reading this on. However, if you have seen The Matrix, you already know that this could be an illusion. If you haven't seen the movie, you may or may not know that everything you experience is simply electrical impulses interpreted by your brain. On a more rudimentary level, this text you're reading may be black, but in reality it is a combination of red, green, and blue pixels. I can go on and on about illusions and how easily your brain can be tricked, but surely, there has to be something that in front of you that is giving you information. You can put your finger up to the screen, and there is some force stopping you from moving it further.

This brings us to the second definition of reality. Reality is still composed of actual physical things, but our interpretation of what these things are entirely rests within our mind. Believe it or not this is where science actually operates. As I described in the last paragraph, the text you're reading is actually a combination of red, green, and blue pixels. If you had a really good magnifying glass, then you could actually see the truth of this. Now obviously science uses our senses, but it more often relies on instruments especially for precision. A simple example would be dropping two marbles from the same height and seeing if their own gravity would effect each other. To the naked eye there would be no change, but with a really precise measuring instrument they would have moved closer to each other ever so slightly. Now some may think I was being over clever and that this definition is truly what they mean; however, how do you know you are not in a dream right now or -using The Matrix example again- not in a simulation?

The final definition of reality is called Idealism. It basically says that everything we interact with is

Is your mind blown yet?

simply a part of our mind. Believe it or not there are some scientists who will agree with this notion because there are parts in physics that contradict each other denying us from creating a Theory of Everything. Now Idealism doesn't answer whether you are in a simulation or not, it just honestly says that every interaction you have is simply a stimulation of your mind. This does not have to be a machine poking your brain with an electrode. We can simply look at this from the vantage point of dreams. When we dream, we don't realize we are in a dream (except for some very lucid dreamers) no matter how fantastic they are. It's not until we wake up that we realize that we were dreaming. This brings us to the ultimate question: how do we know this isn't a dream? Is it because you wouldn't be dreaming about reading a philosophical essay? Perhaps, but it is a fundamental question that has no definitive answer yet seems obvious to all. In fact, I would dare even say that your belief that this reality you're experiencing is real is based entirely on faith.