i read this online

""""" I think I am literally going crazy or already have….. I keeo thinking that everything is fake and I just woke up from a transe but my old habits are still keeping up with me. I wish I never thought liek this because it is tearing me apart. really tearing me apart. I keep thinking that I am just amking up everything around me and nothing is real that some how everything is a hallucination. I keep thinking that I am in acomma and will wake-up from this horrible thought. I find myself having troubles concentrating on my life. I feel like Im stuck in this form of life and who I am and when I look back it seems riducles that I have been crying over if my life is real or not cause it must be real…. I couldnt have just made up everything…. I cant just make up my brother, mom, dad and my animals or the house I live in or the trips I have been on or the schools I have attended the friends I have made cant all just be a simulation of my imagination. I feel sick to my stomach and wish that I would just go back to being in the state of transe that I once was in so then I would feel more comfortable in my life and how my life was and will be. I feel like this is all fake there is no laptop in my hand no cat in the corner of my living room licking him self on a chair. No tv that Im watching cause its all fake, Who knows maybe I am just crazy right now … I dont know maybe these senses that I feel are just things that I have made up in my head. someone please tell me what wrong we me? if we can make people in dreams and houses / cars whats the diference? iam going crazy......""""

cant stop thking about Solipsism what you guys think about this? help me

As you’re referring to it, solipsism is a metaphysical schema, and as such it can only be shown to be false if it involves a logical contradiction, essentially invalidating itself. I think it has been shown to be valid and logically coherent, so that’s not an option. What we can do with a valid metaphysical schema, though, is to compare it to other valid ones, and then determine which ones are least complicated, or more elegant in explaining things. What is complicated and less elegant with the solipsism is its inability to explain, without a great deal of intellectual violence, why I think I’m not just imagining you and others, or that some other is imagining you and me. Additionally, you and others would need be an extremely complicated piece of work to inform me of distal things and past events that I can’t perceive, or couldn’t have perceived, directly. If that were the case and I am the solipsist, then for some unexplained reason I see you more as being just like me, rather than as some experiential tentacle of mine. Not to say that such couldn’t be the case, but why would it be?

Sure it could be that I’m dreaming you and this forum are real. But if I really believed that, I wouldn’t be responding to your post, nor do I think if you really believed such that you would have made it. There’s a distinction between delusion and illusion, in that we can potentially see through illusions, delusions we cannot. So if solipsism is true, then it entails delusion, and not merely suffering an illusion. For if the solipsist isn’t enjoying a sense of omniscience, then he’s suffering a delusion. By omniscience, I mean, you can’t see what I’m seeing, hear what I’m hearing, feel what I touch—yet you believe some of those claims from others and me. So one would need to accept he’s under an inescapable delusion to accept the solipsism. And while that doesn’t refute the thesis, we can still ask, “Why such a complication?”

At any rate, I’m not trying to tell you that the solipsism is wrong. With the particular sort of immaterialism/non-dualism metaphysics I adhere to, solipsism is a live option. And while I can easily reject it on moral and ethical grounds, it’s not quite so easily done away with logical ones. But what I have found is that if you treat it as an affirmative claim, in that affirmative claims bear the burden of proof, it’s not as resilient as it appears. Where you may be running into an issue, and where the post you cited obviously does, is when that burden gets shifted. The poster is asking that we disprove or refute an affirmative, rather than rightfully bearing the burden himself. And again, while we can’t disprove solipsism, we have other less complicated and more elegant schemas out there, so we’re by no means compelled to accept it.

Don't worry about it. A kind of life-grind develops over the years that is broken up by occasional traumas, deaths, incidents and dramas, and this consistency of days and seasons lends you a kind of confidence that yes- all of this crap is probably real. This is really happening.

I turn to Tom Petty or the Red Hot Chili Peppers in times like that.

Well, first on the checklist for this type of thing is usually drugs. Everything from caffeine to the hard stuff. Derealization is a common sideeffect of various psychoactive drugs. If you do any, cut back (though in some cases, this should be done carefully).

Second is sleep, food and activity in that order. Do you sleep regularly and enough (7h-8h per night), do you eat healthy and are you active (30min-60min physical activity per day) enough. If no on any of these, correct it.

Third is recent events in your life. Everything from changes in personal life to traumatic experiences. If yes, and you the above steps have not helped - trying out professional help is a good way to go.

Fourth is cognitive effort. Realize that solipsism, even if true, makes no difference to anything.

This. Even if solipsism is true, it doesn't (or shouldn't) change you you behave in any way whatsoever. Whether it's real or imagined, there are still consequences to actions - throw a brick through a store window and you're still going to jail.

From a pragmatic standpoint, it doesn't matter even a tiny bit whether solipsism is true or false, and it's untestable anyway.

tks for all the reaplys really help me... i dont take any drugs.. and sleep good 7 hours.. i dont know if the problem is my work.. i play online poker for a living and i have to admit iam a bit of hypocondriac i wish e never read that solipsism sh*t.. i dnt know what to do to stop thiking about this.. i go out it friend i have a grilfriend and my mind is always asking "i´m creating all this?? like silimar to a dream?.." i sound like a crazy person.. just need a proff or some type of that solipsism is total bullshi* what scary me its if we can create citys people cars plains etc.. in dreams this can be another dream more real ... and we wake up when we die or something? oh well i know a sound like a crazy person right now.

One of the main reasons for rejecting solipsism is that it is unfalsifiable. There is no good reason to suggest that solipsism is true even if it remains unproven.

Duffee's account of the problems is very good.

An approach I've thought about is the problem of creations that I don't appear capable of. I need more than a sense of delusion, I also need there to be some me beyond my conscious self that is creating art, literature, science, and persons of immense detail and complexity. The self consciously experiencing the world doesn't appear capable of creating this world. I therefore have to suppose that the self behind the delusion is far greater than the self I know.

This, again, while not impossible, does introduce seemingly implausible layers and unnecessary complexities compared to the assumption that there is an external reality.

Solipsism seems to be based upon a certain truth taken to an extreme. The truth it is based upon can be stated as:
You create YOUR EXPERIENCE OF reality.

What you choose to think, what you choose to do, what you choose to feel, what you choose to judge, what you choose to believe creates your experience.

Can you see how this might be so? You are creating the experiences you have with your girlfriend. By your thinking, actions, feelings, beliefs, etc. you are currently creating the experience of "going crazy" thinking about solipsism.

So, maybe it would be helpful to add another element to modify the "going crazy" experience so you can have some peace and space to go through this experience. And perhaps you will gain wisdom and understanding from the experience. Many have found the most beneficial way to "deal with" something it to be aware, be present, in the experience of the moment and go right through it.

So, perhaps you could do this little breath exercise right now. Simply, take some deep breaths in through the nose. Belly expanding (not the chest). Shoulders still. Exhale through the mouth, whispering "Ha" as you exhale. Exhale should be longer than inhale. Focus your attention on the breath. Sense the belly rising and falling, feel the air in the nostril and throat. Notice where inhale turns to exhale, where exhale turns to inhale. Focus your attention on the breath. Take 4, 5, 10, how many ever breaths you want.

Notice what happened to the obsessive thinking during that exercise. It stops. When you focus attention in the mind, attention fuels thinking. When you focus attention on the breath, the thinking doesn't have the fuel to proceed. And you get a rest from that obsessive thinking that's fueling the "going crazy" experience. You can always bring attention to breath to have a rest. And in doing so, maybe a little space opens up within you.

Now, an effective way to deal with the question of, Do I create reality, is to test it. Go outside and see if you can create reality. Make a bag of licorice appear on the grass. Wave your hand and point and make a table appear on the lawn, Brown picnic table, APPEAR NOW. If the licorice or table manifest, well, that would be evidence that you do create reality. If they don't appear, you can then experience whatever arises in you in response to that.

NOW, it is very important that you don't just think about the above paragraph. You have to physically do it. I'm serious. Go outside and make some licorice or a table appear. And then proceed from there. (I can explain why this last bit is important if anyone wants to know).

Hope this helps, drichard.

This is the best duffee post I have read in a long time.

You could try taking some breaks from poker if that is possible. Poker can at times be a fairly high stress occupation and a very solitary one at that.

It's fairly unlikely that your issues are stemming from a philosophical conondum, so I wouldn't fret about "resolving" solipsism. Instead I'd take a look at reducing stress levels, eating healthy and staying active. You said you slept well and didn't do any psychoactive substances, so I will take your word for that.

This is one interpretation. But to make the claim that 'you' create your experience of reality assumes the existence of a 'you', as separate to everything else. Other interpretations do not necessarily require this assumption.

tks for all reaplys.. help me but i cant stop thinking about solipsism .. anyone have some ideia that help me do forget that? cause i really going mad about this.. the most scary part is that i have dreams now and in that dreams i ask myselft is this persons real? cause i dont know iam dreaming... and when i wake up i thing the same .. omfg dont know what do to i shouldt never read this bullshi* someone help

sorry bad english.. its makes me sound even more crazy

did you do as AJmarjarine suggested, and go outside and try creating a fridge on your lawn? If so, could you do it? If you couldnt do it, how does that relate to you creating your reality?

As far as you not existing, and everything being fake, you are correct. Fake as in, all these things only exist in your head as concepts. So you have seen through the illusion, but are still looking at things in terms of the illusion.

All this stuff about solipsism, about stuff being fake, about feeling that something is wrong with you, is all just thoughts in your head. They ( the thoughts) ARE the illusion. Dont try to control the thoughts or stop them,( you cant anyway) just watch them as they appear and disappear. Notice how you get caught up in the thoughts, and get in a vicious circle of thoughts and feelings. When you notice that you got caught up in the vicious circle, bring your attention back to watching the thoughts come and go.

Well, at this point you should seek professional help. This not really my domain as a psychologist, but I'd recommend a cognitive behavioural therapist. That would involve a fairly non-intrusive and comfortable form of therapy.

I'm not a clinical practitioner, and I don't have much data to go on, but I'd would say a likely diagnosis of you based on the limited information is anxiety and/or panic attacks (they often go hand in hand, as panic attacks often leads to anxiety of more panic attacks), most likely as a result of prolonged heightened stress levels (of which derealization is a typical symptom). Solipsism and the things you experience in regards to it is much more likely to be a symptom than a cause.

i know i cant do that.. but if you in a dream and you not "lucid" i mean you thing that is reality you dont create that things too you can create but thing thats normal, imagina that reality is just a more "real" dream and you only wake up when you die you can be a brain in a vat or something somewhere just like when you dreaming or body is in bed sleeping and you can create almost this reality is that not strange!?.. i´m just scared because all of this thing solipsim.. the universe in general.. have begun thinking really deeply about life lately. I think about how big space is and think about the fact that it never ends and I do not understand how something has no ending. I think about where space came from and if a god did create space then who created god. These thoughts scare the **** out of me because I begin to fell like life could be a fantasy. The idea that their is even life or space seems impossible. It also seems very pointless. I am not depressed or anything I like life and have good times with my friends but when im not doing anything and am bored, for instance while im driving a car or sitting around these thoughts are pushed into my head and I start to get scared. I dont want these thoughts but they just keep coming. How do I quit thinking about questions that i will never know the answer to? why 99% people dont even thing about earth and the universe its seems that they live in other reality than mine.. and i want to go back to what i as before starting to ask this questions :S

As complicated as the universe is, you do understand that the idea that it's fake is infinitely more complicated. Like if you're really a brain in a vat, then not only did you mentally invent the entire universe and every detail of it, but there's also some other real universe in which there is a vat and your brain is in that vat, and that universe requires an explanation. Somewhere, something has to exist to enable your experience of life, even if its not what your experiencing.

tks for that words.. really help me. tks man

If solipsism disturbs you, then for the love of god NEVER speak to someone advocating Scientology.

Although maybe looking at Scientology might take your mind off it. It's better to get a nice spread of ideas, multi table that ****.

You are not alone in this, it is a pretty ****ed up possibility. If you can believe and take comfort in that then you can at least dismiss the dissonance for the time being. PM me if it is really bad, like people are wanting to give you anti psychotics bad.

edit post grunch:

did you do as AJmarjarine suggested, and go outside and try creating a fridge on your lawn? If so, could you do it? If you couldnt do it, how does that relate to you creating your reality?

Please do not listen to this, I see this as trolling, and it is advocating Scientology thought as sold by corruption, which is a trigger requisite for existential crisis. (there is a question implied in trying in the first place something totally ****ing bonkers to begin with - 'what if it just takes practice')

Grunch +2 : The russian egg argument is not really any 'different'

I wasnt trolling. I know that actually LOOKING at what really happens helped me, so thought it could help others. Maybe I misunderstood what he meant by solipsism.

solipsism does not imply that your cognitive scratch board is capable of manifesting physcial substance which communicates with physical sense. And I have seen this thought process cause so much distress to people, when dopamine floods your brain in poker (willing the river, or willing the bluff), the same thing happens. I refer it to trolling because it is a means by many institutes to cause exploitable tilt.

This is a very good post, I am also grateful.

I think you reinforce that the defense is about not being alone, the notion that solipsism is being experienced by other potential 'rights to do so' invalidates its unpleasing inferences. Those that mock it by dismissing it, are in some way, 'bullies'. Solipsism existing as a personal deity at some previous point, provides a comfort zone, if you don't have that, then it can be a mind ****. Because it suggests that you can't talk about it to anyone, or it pointless to do so and that paves a way to social phobias.

I disagree. The thing he was going through was obsessive thinking. More thinking isn't going to help excessive thinking. The idea behind physically going outside and trying to create something is that, in doing so, the part of him that is producing all this thought now has a new experience to factor in. And you are doing something, rather than thinking something. You are experimenting and adding experience rather than obsessive theorizing.

More important than that was the suggestion to do breath meditation. That's a lifelong skill and a tool that is helpful in many ways. And will always help when the mind keeps going and going and going.

Also, fwiw, I don't know anything about Scientology.

These practices will not alleviate the psychological discomfort manifested here, he clearly does not want to go crazy. Trying to make a fridge appear on your lawn is clearly an initial step into psychosis and that is literally what you requested (this is what Scientology sometimes does to people because of their interpretation of dianetics and the power of being an 'operating thetan' which is similar to whatever enlightenment process you are advocating (not it it's outcome, but in it's question)). Asking someone to do this is clearly trolling. The idea is so ****ing absurd, it should be established at a young age that this is impossible and I see so much that the notion of it being dependent on a behavior or a skill or a practice to be wasting peoples time and causing tilt. There are people who instantly reject even the notion of someone asking them to imagine the pink elephant, you do not consider this spectrum in your advice.

As an example, THai Chai is generally considered to be 'good for you' but with some % of 'thai chi-ers' I have read that there is a link to developing anxiety issues. I think I understand why but it is difficult to articulate the links and I see similar links from my own experience of the issue and in the OP.

I don't see this as a thread for religion or theology, it is a psychological issue related to comprehending a certain philosophy and the dissonance caused by the relationship between philosophical idealization.