Is There A Real World Out There?

Image of the Week
Hand-drawn art by Rupali Bhuva
Image of the Week
¿Existe un mundo real ahí fuera?
--por Anil Seth

He aquí una visión de sentido común de la percepción. Llamémoslo la visión de "cómo parecen las cosas".

Existe una realidad independiente de la mente, llena de objetos, personas y lugares que en realidad tienen propiedades como color, forma, textura, etc. Nuestros sentidos actúan como ventanas transparentes a este mundo, detectan estos objetos y sus características y transmiten esta información al cerebro, donde complejos procesos neuronales la leen para formar percepciones. Una taza de café en el mundo lleva a una percepción de una taza de café generada dentro del cerebro. En cuanto a quién o qué está percibiendo... bueno, ese es el "yo", ¿no?, el "yo detrás de los ojos", se podría decir, el receptor de oleada tras oleada de datos sensoriales, que utiliza sus lecturas perceptuales. para guiar el comportamiento, para decidir qué hacer a continuación. Hay una taza de café allí. Lo percibo y la recojo. Siento, pienso y luego actúo.

Ésta es una imagen atractiva. Los patrones de pensamiento establecidos durante décadas, tal vez siglos, nos han acostumbrado a la idea de que el cerebro es una especie de computadora situada dentro del cráneo, que procesa información sensorial para construir una imagen interior del mundo exterior en beneficio del yo. Este panorama es tan familiar que puede resultar difícil concebir una alternativa razonable.

LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN: “¿Por qué la gente dice que era natural pensar que el Sol giraba alrededor de la Tierra en lugar de que la Tierra giraba sobre su eje?”

ELIZABETH ANSCOMBE: “Supongo, porque parecía como si el sol girara alrededor de la Tierra”.

LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN: “Bueno, ¿cómo se habría visto si la Tierra hubiera girado sobre su eje?”

En este delicioso intercambio entre Wittgenstein y su colega filósofa (y biógrafa) Elizabeth Anscombe, el legendario pensador austriaco utiliza la revolución copernicana para ilustrar el punto de que lo que parecen las cosas no es necesariamente como son. Aunque parezca que el sol gira alrededor de la Tierra, desde luego la Tierra gira alrededor de su propio eje lo que nos da la noche y el día, y es el sol, no la Tierra, el que se encuentra en el centro del sistema solar. Podrías pensar que no hay nada nuevo aquí, y estarías en lo cierto. Pero Wittgenstein apuntaba a algo más profundo. Su verdadero mensaje para Anscombe era que incluso con una mayor comprensión de cómo son realmente las cosas, en algún nivel las cosas siguen pareciendo igual que siempre. El sol sale por el este y se pone por el oeste, como siempre.

Lo mismo que ocurre con el sistema solar, ocurre con la percepción. Abro los ojos y parece que hay un mundo real ahí fuera. Hoy estoy en casa en Brighton. No hay cipreses como los que había en Santa Cruz, sólo los habituales objetos dispersos sobre mi escritorio, una silla roja en un rincón y, más allá de la ventana, un montón de chimeneas. Estos objetos parecen tener formas y colores específicos, y para los que están más cerca, también olores y texturas. Así parecen las cosas.

Aunque pueda parecer que mis sentidos proporcionan ventanas transparentes a una realidad independiente de la mente, y que la percepción es un proceso de “lectura” de datos sensoriales, creo que lo que realmente está sucediendo es bastante diferente. Las percepciones no vienen de abajo hacia arriba ni de afuera hacia adentro, sino principalmente de arriba hacia abajo o de adentro hacia afuera. Lo que experimentamos se construye a partir de las predicciones del cerebro, o “mejores suposiciones”, sobre las causas de las señales sensoriales. Al igual que con la revolución copernicana, esta visión de arriba hacia abajo de la percepción sigue siendo consistente con gran parte de la evidencia existente, dejando sin cambios muchos aspectos de cómo parecen las cosas, mientras que al mismo tiempo lo cambia todo.

Preguntas semilla para la reflexión: ¿Cómo te relacionas con la noción de que podríamos estar viendo lo mismo que siempre vemos a pesar de un cambio importante en nuestro modelo subyacente de la realidad? ¿Puedes compartir una historia personal de alguna vez en la que te diste cuenta de que tenías ojos muy diferentes hacia la misma realidad externa? ¿Qué te ayuda a profundizar en tu modelo de la realidad para ir más allá de cómo parecen las cosas?

Anil Seth es profesor de neurociencia cognitiva y computacional en la Universidad de Sussex. Extracto de su libro, Being You.
Seed Questions for Reflection

How do you relate to the notion that we might be seeing the same thing that we always do inspite of a major shift in our underlying model of reality? Can you share a personal story of a time you realized you had very different eyes toward the same external reality? What helps you dig deeper into your model of reality to go beyond how things seem?

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17 Past Reflections
RH
May 28, 2024
all very true, the outter reality is changed by the inner perspective.
AJ
aj May 31, 2024
Amen Rachael! This I understand! The more simple and true we keep our inner perspectives … the more clear our outer reality becomes.
MA
manonthepath
May 28, 2024
For some reason, I have always sought and loved Truth. I have had a few people that I could discuss Truth with in a manner that helped Truth reveal itself. On these rare occasions, there would be a "racing," rushing" feeling of heightened expanding awareness triggered by the momentum of the discussion - a feeling that felt like I or we were "going" or "arriving" at a higher awareness, but usually plateaued at a calm peaceful point of Awareness. One time however, I was on the phone discussing Truth with a good friend when that "racing" feeling started, I ended the call to allow the awareness to expand and this time, for the first time, found I had actually "arrived" at a very surprising Awareness I had never had, seen or even suspected might be true. In that moment and awareness, I saw how everything, and I mean utterly and literally everything you see and perceive in your world is all created by You. You put it all there. Every person, every event and every experience that has e... View full comment
JW
John Wozniak
May 28, 2024
I would guess optical illusions are an example of this.
TH
May 28, 2024
Sounds consistent with Dakshinamurthy Stotram of Adishankara. Appealing and intriguing. But so difficult to comprehend and apply it consistently through day to day life.
ST
May 28, 2024
Ahhhh! Heady stuff. This morning in predawn I listened to bird song then enjoyed 4 gentle deer grazing as I read a sweet letter from a dear friend in Sweden
Here in Eureka Springs Arkansas.
Her message was heartfelt and blended well with the birdsong and deer in the trees. And then the cup of tea that my beloved delivered and the intimate poem we read relating to a political prisoner.
So all of that and a world of experiences are all flowing together in me at this moment as I return to my breath , a sip of tea,my lover’s warm embrace, a kiss, her eyes and smile.
HT
May 28, 2024
this is poignant as I go through observing my father slowly running out of days. As I remember him being strong and sometimes big and intimidating as a small child. I see now that he always was a child inside a large body and that is where I’m going as I age. He was always a child of war likely afraid at times hungry sad, bewildered, and any other myriad of feelings. None of that matters anymore and I see him now more authentic than ever before. … The love is free from all human perceptions I had before
DE
Deborah
May 28, 2024
Absolutely true, 100% of the time, no exceptions. We live in the feeling of our thinking, not in the feelings of our circumstances. Seeing this , really seeing this, is life changing. Sydney Banks describes this as the principles of thought and consciousness. These two principles along with the third principle of universal mind make up our entire experience of life. And when you see how life really works rather than the innocent illusion that most of us live in, life makes more sense and gets so so much easier.
CS
Charles Savage
May 28, 2024
Thanks for awakening our need to rethink the "dynamics" of perception. Alas, most of us are still within the realm of perception in terms of the world of SPACE, with our five senses. As you well know, ibn al-haytham, about 1,000 years ago (Egypt) helped us to understand our perception of light, with his Camera Obscura model - and his book on Optics that was a treasure for over 500 years. It would be nice if he could return and help us with our big problem of "Life Obscura." And here it is not objects in SPACE, but the dynamics in TIME. Here he, or maybe your next book, would be on the Optics of Insights! SPACE we understand, but, alas, TIME is still a mystery. We are so captive to the "Linear Clock Time" model, Greeks called it Chronos, that we can hardly even imagine Kairos, the Meaning Enriching dimensions of time. As you will easily remember, using the OM symbol, we need to move from the lowest level, the Jagrata, to the forth level, the Turiya, where wisdom (Satvic) comes ali... View full comment
JD
May 24, 2024
What a fascinating discourse!

"What we experience is built from the brain’s predictions, or 'best guesses,' about the causes of sensory signals."

The German word for perception is "Wahrnehmung" . Its etymological roots are "Wahr" - truth and "nehmen" - to take.

So what I perceive is my take of the truth. The reality is what I make of what I sense through my eyes, ears, nose, taste and feel. Everything is based on my perspetive. And the mind interprets all these inputs based on learned biases from socio and cultural influences.

No wonder we have so many misunderstandings!

If we can learn to comprehend that our views may not always be shared by others, that the views of others could in fact also be "logical" and "rational"…

What we know or think we know should humble us enough to admit how little we actually know.
DD
David Doane May 28, 2024
"My take on truth" -- and everyone has one, like with the blind men gathered around the elephant, each with a different perception -- and how little we know of the whole -- all important to keep in mind.
DD
May 24, 2024
My view: None of us see the same thing. Every model of reality is a model and not reality. There is a model independent and mind independent reality, but not out there. There is only one reality and we are part of it. Reality manifests as mind, objects, and people, and mind provides properties like shape and color. It seems that there is external separate reality that we are observing, but how things seem is not what is. Perception comes from us. We see appearance. I always had my different eyes, that is, my unique perception, then I learned to see appearance as others saw, then began to question appearance, and eventually I grew in seeing reality being different than appearance, which propelled me over the last 25 years or so to embrace and foster my view and go beyond how things seem. To use author Seth's words, my view leaves "unchanged many aspects of how things seem, while at the same changing everything."
AJ
aj May 25, 2024
I hear you David! My thoughts similar to yours.
DD
David Doane May 28, 2024
Thank you.
AJ
aj May 28, 2024
You are a very gifted thinker/writer! Just saying …
JP
May 23, 2024
How do we perceive reality, the things as they are or the people as they are? Is my perception of things and people changing or remainnig the same? This is a profound existential question. According to me, my perception of things and people changes depending on the condition of my mind. When my mind is quiet, clear and open, my perception of the external world of things and people becomes clear. But when my mind is clouded by my past experiences, biases, and prejudices, my perception and understanding of the external world changes. The past has an impact on the present. As is my vision, so is my vision of reality. If my vision is blurred so is my vision of reality. If my vision is clear like the clear blue sky my perception of realty is clear without any distortion. Letting go of my biases and prejudices is very important for me to see the truth. Clearing up and quieting my mind is very important for me for my mental and emotional health, for my relationships with people in my life... View full comment
BS
May 23, 2024
Interesting read, reflection.
Round and Round we all are in the cosmic story.