What is Reality: Definition and 432 Discussions

Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, reality is the totality of a system, known and unknown. Philosophical questions about the nature of reality or existence or being are considered under the rubric of ontology, which is a major branch of metaphysics in the Western philosophical tradition. Ontological questions also feature in diverse branches of philosophy, including the philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mathematics, and philosophical logic. These include questions about whether only physical objects are real (i.e., Physicalism), whether reality is fundamentally immaterial (e.g., Idealism), whether hypothetical unobservable entities posited by scientific theories exist, whether God exists, whether numbers and other abstract objects exist, and whether possible worlds exist.

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  1. R

    Has anyone ever read The Nature of Personal Reality?

    i am currently reading the nature of personal reality by jane roberts and i have a few questions and i would also like to discuss the implications of this book. what exactly is natural guilt? how can i identify and change my core beliefs? how do my thoughts shape the physical me and how...
  2. Clausius2

    Do Equations Truly Capture Reality in Complex Simulations?

    During my undergraduate studies, I have been taught a lot about some important mathematical models for physics and engineering. The most important and heavy equations I have been shown have been: 1) Navier Stokes Equations for Fluid Flow (Reactive and NonReactive). 2) Structural Mechanics...
  3. Ivan Seeking

    Measuring the reality of climate change: BBC report

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4566123.stm
  4. turbo

    A nice reality check on cosmology.

    Ned Wright lecture at KITP: http://online.itp.ucsb.edu/online/colloq/wright1/
  5. wolram

    Is There a Black Hole in Our Solar System?

    there is so much in the literature about BHs, but AFAIK only observations of some gravitational disturbance has been observed, how can we ascribe this to some thing that is purely hypothetical?
  6. JamesU

    Banning Junk Food in Schools - A Frustrating Reality

    I'm in middle school, and they just passed this gay law(or so I heard.) saying that junk food shouldn't be allowed in schools. WTF?!? It's pissing me off... :mad:
  7. S

    Escaping to an Alternate Reality: Diary of a Madman

    What's the theme called that describes the following situation: You're not happy with your life, so you make an alternate reality for yourself (as i found to be evident in "Diary of a Madman")
  8. O

    How close are we to successfully cloning a Woolly Mammoth?

    Mammoth Cloning - how close are we? You may recall the Woolly Mammoth excavated by an international team of scientists. This was an intact 20,380 year old carcass that was air lifted from the permafrost on the Taimyr Peninsula of Siberia. It was brought to Khatanga (northern Siberia) where...
  9. D

    Mathematica Black Holes-mathematical singularity or physical reality?

    Black Holes-mathematical singularity or physical reality? Hi, I posted maybe a week ago and got some excellent feedback on experimental eveidence for GR. this post is intended to start debate, not as a question demanding an answer... after reading around for some time and speaking to my...
  10. T

    The predictions it makes don't agree with reality. Enough said

    I posted the thread below last night and was promptly shut down by CHROOT (Warren) with the following reply. "The predictions it makes don't agree with reality. Enough said." - Warren. I came to this forum looking for answers and and a better understanding. I came with an open mind and a...
  11. J

    What Is an Element of Reality?

    In "Do we really understand quantum mechanics? Strange correlations, paradoxes and theorems." by F. Laloe, Laboratoire de Physique de l'ENS, LKB, 24 rue Lhomond, F-75005 Paris, France, Laloe explores the meaning of "element of reality": "3.2 Of peas, pods and genes When a physicist...
  12. U

    Will Virtual Reality Fully Immerse Our Senses by 2009?

    Ok, so I'm reading this book "The Age of Spiritual Machines", which is basically a book making predictions about the future of computers assuming the operation of Moore's law. Anyways, at one point, the author states something like "Around the year 2009, humans will be able to fully emerge their...
  13. M

    Understanding Relativity: The Reality of Time and Space

    hey, so most of us understand special relativity, and I also understand it and appreciate it. However, most people understand it from a mathematical point of view. But come to think about it, what is actually happening in relativity? there are many examples we can look at. for instance...
  14. T

    Can Black Holes Alter the Movement of the Universe Through Light Bending?

    When a star turns into a black hole does it change the movement of the Universe at all? Through a funneling effect?
  15. M

    Reality, What gives birth to it?

    Hi All This is my first post here. What I will post comes from questions and answers we send and receive by the process of conscious cognitive intuitive flow. There are 3 of us who work together to receive and produce these articles. We make no 3d changes to them and post what we receive...
  16. W

    Do Ghost Notes and Visual Illusions Shed Light on the Concept of Nothingness?

    Hi everybody If we assume that all we observe and see and touch (ie. the universe) was 'real', not illusion, what would there be if this "reality" didn't exist? The first thing that pop up to my mind is 'nothingness', but do we really know what nothingness means? is it just a dark place...
  17. Ivan Seeking

    The Reality of Television Addiction

    http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=0005339B-A694-1CC5-B4A8809EC588EEDF Guilty! I have the thing on all the time while I'm working. My job tends to be very solitary at times and the TV helps to break the monotony.
  18. G

    News Study finds most Bush supporters do not live in reality.

    This report is mindblowing... Download the full report in pdf format http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/Pres_Election_04/Report10_21_04.pdf
  19. W

    The Road To Reality - Is It Easy or Hard to Understand?

    Hi, has anyone read "The Road To Reality" by Roger Penrose? It looks quite complicated if you browse through it but I started reading the book and in the preface Penrose says that in the first 17 chapter he develops and explains all the mathematics necessary for the rest of the book. Is this...
  20. D

    Physical reality EM potentials

    I just learned the scalar and vector potentials arising from the electric and magnetic fields have a physical reality in relation to quantum mechanical effects, such as the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Contrary to what I've learned from my course on electrodynamics (Griffiths) this sure must mean they...
  21. A

    Is Peak Oil Happening This Decade?

    I have in other threads assumed that the pessimists are correct and that peak oil is happening this decade. Do anyone have more information if this is correct? Can alternatives like tar sands, oil shale or abiogenic oil be dismissed? The peak-oil-this-decade theory is advocated here...
  22. M

    What defines an observer for reality to exist externally?

    what defines an observer for reality to exist externally? (refer to Einstein) personally i am not convinced an observer must have conciousness (i am not sure about how Einstein defined it). what is consciousness anyway? i mean i believe i am consciouss, but it seems to me that there are...
  23. P

    News Bush's Reality is for suckers presidency

    Bush's "Reality is for suckers" presidency From "Without a Doubt" by Ron Suskind.
  24. G

    The Road to Reality By Penrose?

    "The Road to Reality" By Penrose? i live in the US and decided to get this book off of amazon.com. i was wondering if anyone has read, or atleast skimmed (its pretty big) through it and would mind telling me if its a good buy(although if it isnt, its a little late now :-p). also, I am...
  25. L

    John's 10 Marriages: Unbelievable Legal Reality

    John married 10 people in one day. How could this be legal ? :confused: :
  26. Z

    Schrödinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality

    Hey Guys, I have read, Schrödinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality by John Gribbin and also "The Whole Shebang" by Timothy Ferris. I have also read a lot of books on Cosmology. What I'm looking for now is a book specifically on Quantum mechanics that is light on the math. (Only have a...
  27. T

    Was the Halo 2 Beta Version Ever Leaked?

    Whats the deal with halo 2 beta? I have heard random stories from just news about it being leaked to the actual beta version of halo 2 being leaked. If someone does know where one could find the beta version please email me or contact me somehow I am not sure if it would be appropriate...
  28. O

    Can the mind out think Reality?

    Just follow the link and try:http://www.davidpbrown.co.uk/optical-illusions/missing-space-triangle.html There are a number of perceptional variants when the mind falls into the trap of measuring Geometric Forms.
  29. D

    What Reality TV Show Could You Win At?

    I'm not a big fan of reality television. Especially the idiotic shows like For Love or Money or The Player. I do however watch Amazing Race. Have you ever been tempted to join as a contestant on reality TV show? What show would you be best fitted for? Sometimes when I'm watching...
  30. U

    Race: The Reality of Human Differences, by Vincent Sarich and Frank Miele, 2004

    A new super-cool book is "Race: The Reality of Human Differences," by Vincent Sarich and Frank Miele, 2004 (click here to read the whole book). Here are some interesting excerpts from the book: "Strong evidence in the case for race comes from examining the amount of variation actually...
  31. B

    Creating an Undying Lord: Can Reality be Changed?

    Is it possible to make a God, and undieing lord that can alter the thread of reality?
  32. marcus

    Penrose: Road to Reality, just out

    On friday 23July Penrose new book came out "The Road to Reality" Three hour-and-half lectures he gave on separate evenings last October at Princeton are online and very likely share key ideas with the book. I will get the links for those lectures. The series was called something like...
  33. P

    Famous Quote: "Paranoia is Just a Higher Awareness of Reality"

    I've heard this before, and was wondering what everybody thought of it: Your thoughts. Paden Roder
  34. E

    Exploring the Reality of Top Schools

    Whats up with the Top Schools? So.. what's up with all the top universities... has anyone here attended any of the top schools?... I am interested .. .mainly because of how MIT built so much preasure on its students... leading some to their death... Does anyone know how hard it actually...
  35. B

    Theories of The Universe (and Reality)

    I find discussing the beginning and continuation of the universe one of the more interesting aspects of physics. Also the fact nobody really has any concrete proof as to much of where the universe is going, its boundaries, its expansion. Alot of people have their own ideas or beliefs, and i'd...
  36. N

    Physical reality is not the real reality

    Physical reality is not the “real” reality Physical reality makes it possible for us to react with each other, the mental functioning of our brains. The functioning. How do planets function? They do not think, but they do function. How would they function with each other without being...
  37. zoobyshoe

    Can Hamsters Generate Usable Electricity?

    Since the domestication of the hamster and similar creatures who demonstrate a proclivity for running in wheels that go nowhere and do nothing, mankind has dreamed of the day technology would evolve to the degree that this wasted energy could be tapped and turned into a useful source of power...
  38. L

    What exactly is a frame of reality?

    What exactly is a frame of reality? Is it 2d? What are some of its properities? I'm not sure if I'm asking this question in the correct way...I'm just having trouble with the concept.
  39. B

    Is There a Disconnect Between Intuition and Mathematics in Quantum Theory?

    quote from The New Quantum Universe by Hey, Walters: is that an accurate statement? does it imply that there's a complete non-link between even the simplest intuitive qualitative descriptions of quantum theory and the mathematics of it?
  40. C

    Can Ultimate Reality Be Fully Understood?

    I've recently read a definition from an online encyclopaedia, where it states that some part of ultimate reality may be unknowable to us. This is the link to the page: http://www.internet-encyclopedia.org/wiki.php?title=Ultimate_reality Anyways, my question is: do you believe that...
  41. N

    News The Reality Of Being A Human Shield

    From; http://wspg.blogspot.com/ “Public Forum - Donna Mulhearn: Life in Occupied Iraq Monday June 14th – 7pm Rooty Hill Uniting Church 86 Rooty Hill Rd North, Rooty Hill After living through the war on Iraq as a human shield, and returning to work with orphaned kids, Donna Mulhearn...
  42. F

    The reality of past present and future

    After some sixty plus years of observation, I'm starting to believe that every single action is destine to happen based on any number of prior events leading up to that point in time. And, we have no control over the outcome. The other day I was doing a thought experiment about "time" as...
  43. E

    What is the truth about human perception and scientific protocols?

    Life on Mars is not in question anymore Check the fair report at http://mywebpages.comcast.net/extrasense ES
  44. D

    News Pat Tillman: Sacrifice, Valor and the Tragic Reality of Friendly Fire

    NFL Football star Pat Tillman, who gave up millions by turning down a contract with the Arizona Cardinals, because he chose to fight as a Ranger in Afghanistan was killed during April. The Army awarded Tillman the Silver Star, its third-highest award for combat valor, saying Tillman led his...
  45. K

    Relativity & Reality: Electric Charges as the Only Real Entities?

    what is reality-even relativity gives bizarre answers: the mass of an object depends on its speed relative to another object and so does its length.Since objects in the real world are always moving at slightly different speeds from one instant of time to the next, relative to one another...
  46. M

    Is Torture Really Worse than Death?

    I was just wondering, that in an objective sense, the only thing wrong with a tortured death is the pain and possibly embarrasment one goes through before death. These are days and weeks at the most in almost all cases. So what I don't get, is how does tortured death, for example, taped...
  47. O

    Discussing Our Individual Views of Reality - No Need to Define it

    must we define reality?? i get the impression that we all have an intuitive definition for ourselves. no matter what all the wise men have said, we somehow know our individual sense (definition) of reality. so, why don't we just discuss our individual views and stop trying to define a very...
  48. C

    Understanding Superstring Reality: Dr. Sylvester Gates' Puzzling Expression

    I posted this thread in the math forum, but no one seems to know what I am talking about... since i heard dr sylvester gates say it and he specializes in superstring theory, maybe someone here can help me out.. im trying to understand the expression, "the more math makes sense, reality...
  49. C

    What does it mean when math and reality don't align?

    I have heard the expression, "the more math makes sense, reality doesnt... and the more reality makes sense, math doesnt". Can someone give an example of this expression? What does it mean?
  50. O

    Where does reality end and imagination begin?

    Its has occurred to me for some time that there is a fine line between imagination and reality...i think the mistake people always make is with the need to classify an experience as either being an hallucination/aborition or something wholey real. Surely what we percieve as reality (whether...
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