Reality.

[Gooding]

What is it? Is it just what we see, is there a Power behind it that directs the flow of world events, or are we all simply a collection of molecules and chemical reactions that cease to exist when brain activity ceases? I'm not interested in a debate, I don't care about who's right and who's wrong, I just want opinions and nobody will be flamed for expressing them, at least not by me. I'm not smarter than anybody else and I know I expressed a strong view for religion the last time this was discussed. A true faith is one that will grow when challenged, not make one close up his mind and slink away. I said " I believe what I believe and that's it," the last time and something entered my mind along the point of " what do you believe and why do you believe it?" Mysticism's no good because it reduces everything to what I see, what's convenient for me. It makes me see God as a reflection of my own ego, cheering me on to satisfy myself without any regard to how my actions might effect others.
Fine. When I was taking my classes for my Medical Assistant Degree, I learned that the human brain does not have a pouch that contains what people throughout the centuries have referred to as a soul. I also learned about the chemicals that produce pleasure, such as serotonin. In life, we are able to use challenges to grow as people and we are able to benefit from the lessons we learned. What happens after our brain activity ceases? Do we return as a collection of thoughts, experiences and consciousness to Whoever set the events in motion to lead to our births in the first place,or do we return to that point of zero that happened just before we opened our eyes for the first time in a hospital bed? I know it's human nature for us to want what we've accumulated during our lifetimes to follow us to what might be considered the " Great Beyond," but let's put the human reaction " because I want it to" aside for a minute. What's your take?

[Linebacker]

We aren't ready yet to know the truth,well some are,but the rest pull us back.

Humanity has a lot to evolve and advance before we can get answers for existence,the universe,is there some higher life form overseeing things.

Its a long road to go,and the most shitty part is some people today bring down bridges to progression on purpose,clinging to their bygone and primitive ideas.

[Gooding]

We aren't ready yet to know the truth,well some are,but the rest pull us back.

Humanity has a lot to evolve and advance before we can get answers for existence,the universe,is there some higher life form overseeing things.

Its a long road to go,and the most shitty part is some people today bring down bridges to progression on purpose,clinging to their bygone and primitive ideas.

Good points, all. Thank you for your take, Linebacker!

[sql]

These are questions that philosophers have failed to answer for years.

Personally, I believe that we are purely biological beings that evolved to a higher level of thinking which is so complex, it has trouble understanding the simplicity of our existence.

I don't believe in Solipsism, but it makes me think. If you haven't heard of this philosophy already, check it out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism

[Gooding]

These are questions that philosophers have failed to answer for years.

Personally, I believe that we are purely biological beings that evolved to a higher level of thinking which is so complex, it has trouble understanding the simplicity of our existence.

I don't believe in Solipsism, but it makes me think. If you haven't heard of this philosophy already, check it out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism

Thanks for the link, Jewpsy! It does seem to be an interesting philosophy. Here's a philosophy that's informed some of my thoughts on things.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism. Emotions have their proper place, of course, but with all things in moderation, it's best to have the ability to control one's reactions to certain things.

[Gooding]

Bumping it up. These are excellent replies so far!

[Smitty]

The following is a quote by Melanie Phillips in The World Turned Upside Down that, I think, is relevant to the idea of faith:

"In Language, Truth and Logic, published in 1936, the philosopher A.J. Ayer established positivism as a more generally applicable philosophical doctrine, but one which quickly foundered upon its own internal contradiction. Through the 'verification principle,' Ayer argued that statements that cannot be tested by rules of science, language or logic have no meaning at all. In itself, this was a nonsensical proposition: since the verification principle cannot itself be verified, by its own standard it too must be meaningless.

"Nevertheless the principle set up an apparent conflict between religion and science. Since religion could not be verified, it could have no meaning. Only science could have meaning, and so science alone became synonymous with reason. There could be nothing beyond the natural world; to believe otherwise was irrational. In the words of the astronomer Carl Sagan: 'The cosmos is all there is, or was, or ever shall be.' Science would therefore answer all the questions in the world.

"But science cannot account for everything. Many people - including many scientists - have pointed out that such a view is as absurd as it is arrogant. There are clearly many aspects of existence that cannot be reduced to materialist scientific analysis: love, law, philosophy, appreciation of beauty, belief in right and wrong. It does not follow that these things lie beyond rational understanding. The zoologist Sir Peter Medawar criticized the positivist attitude as the quickest way to discredit scientists and science, saying that the limits to science were demonstrated by its inability to answer questions such as 'How did everything begin?' or 'What are we all here for?' These questions could properly be addressed through religion, literature or philosophy."

I agree that "science" as the be all and end all is lacking in terms of explaining everything for mankind, and, as Phillips goes on to argue, such a position is a belief system in itself.

[Unome]

There is physical strength.
Then there is mental strength.

Just as top physical strength is rare;
So too is top mental strength rare.

99% of humanity is, by definition, weaker than the rarest breed of highest physical/mental strength.
Perceiving and understanding reality, objectivity, requires the highest mental strength.

[ius semper]

The only thing we have to understand our enviroment are our senses. And, if our senses are not perfect, how can we understand reality? It's imposible.

[Neon Knight]

Personally, I believe that we are purely biological beings that evolved to a higher level of thinking which is so complex, it has trouble understanding the simplicity of our existence.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism

I think roughly the opposite; the brain is a result of evolution and adaptation to aid our survival and we can survive very well without understanding the complete workings of the universe, so what we have figured out is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

Regarding reality, think about when you dream: things happen which surprise you and you interact with characters without questioning their reality, but when you wake up and have a change of consciousness you realize that it was all coming from your own imagination. Perhaps when we 'die' we have a similar change of consciousness and realize that life was some kind of illusion - quite possible in my opinion.