time list

Solipsism and the Existence of "Other" Minds

I regard subjective experience as the fundamental reality. In my view, what one regards as "physical" is actually phenomenal and subjective. Thus matter and space reside within the subjective experience of the individual mind.

My view may be characterized as "solipsistic." But it really isn't solipsistic in the usual sense of that word. I recognize the existence of not just one solipsystem (i.e., one mind) but of many solipsystems (i.e., many minds). The tacit assumption that we usually make is that all minds exist within the same temporal context (i.e., within the same "present" of time). However, each mind has its own subjective time--its own "present." And these various subjective times cannot be coordinated with one another temporally. The phenomenal experiences of one mind cannot be temporally coordinated with the phenomenal experiences of another mind. Thus temporal conflicts or inconsistencies cannot arise between events occurring in separate solipsystems.

If time flow were an objective phenomenon, temporal coordination of all mental events would have been possible. However, we know from Einstein's theory that time flow cannot be objective.



References

1. Chris Hooley uses the term "solipsystem" in his paper "Wholeness and the Solipsystem, Inverting the World View" (http://www.douglashospital.qc.ca/fdg/kjf/8-TAHOOL.htm).


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Subjective Time
Temporal Order and Time Travel
Geometric Time Travel and Temporal Paradox
Temporal History Versus Physical/Geometric History
The Theory of Persistence: Part One