Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia; Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.
Quantum science merely shows that Materialism is an illusion
Post 27. 04/01/2018 continued . . .
Quantum Idealism
Which is real, and which illusion?
As you might expect from a murky metaphysical concept, Philosophical Idealism is expressed in many different vocabularies. Subjective Idealists, such as Berkeley & Buddha believed that objective reality is an illusion. Transcendental Idealists only admit that knowledge about our percieved reality is questionable. Objective Idealists make specific claims about a trans-
Nevertheless, I think it's safe to assume that our personal perceptions of reality are accurate enough for practical purposes. Only for theoretical considerations do we need to keep in mind that what we perceive may not be all there is. We are always quick to fill-
For example, when taken to an extreme, the idealistic worldview lends itself to some bizarre & unfounded magical notions. It has long been taught that the mind can create any reality it wants. But that assertion must be taken on faith, because it is impossible to demonstrate empirically. A popular New Age notion is that "we create our own reality". Which may be a form of optimistic positive thinking, but not literally true. You may believe you can fly, in your own personal bubble of ideality, but if you jump off a tall building, impersonal reality will burst your bubble.
Since there is no practical application of the idealist worldview, it is only useful for comparision, to evaluate reality by ideal standards. What-
The Enformationism worldview is idealistic, only in the sense that its model of mundane Reality assumes a sublime Ideality, which by its perfection & self-
End of Post 27
Quantum theory is relativistic & probabilistic, whereas Newton's theories were absolute & predictable. Newton's worldview was on the macro scale of the naked eye, assisted by weak technologies. QT goes beyond the limitations of human senses, into the micro and cosmic scales of reality. There, we see intimations of ultimate reality, but only via mentally constructed models (theories).
Observing a quantum system requires acting upon it, which triggers a reaction. Hence, observation is inter-
Quantum Theory :
Click here for popup
Pragmatic Idealist :
A compromise between the materialistic Realism of everyday life, and the spiritualistic Idealism of the contemplative life. Realism puts food on the table. Idealism puts wisdom in your mind. Together, they can nourish body & soul.
Refutation of Idealism :
Philosopher G. E. Moore in
“ . . . his famous piece from 1903, “The Refutation of Idealism,” to assuring the reader over and over that “I do not suppose that anything I shall say has the smallest tendency to prove that reality is not spiritual. … Reality may be spiritual, for all I know; and I devoutly hope it is. … It is, therefore, only with idealistic arguments that I am concerned; … I shall have proved that Idealists have no reason whatever for their conclusion”
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/idealism/#FatIdeTweCen
The counter-
Berkeley’s 18th century theoretical arguments. But in the 21st century, Quantum Mechanics provides scientific evidence that can be inter-
[ see Ideality ]