What is real?

Is real only what we can see/touch/smell/hear/feel? Then does that mean microwaves and gravity aren't real because we can't sense them with our 5 senses? But these things clearly have an effect on the physical world, so they must be real. Are our thoughts real? Our thoughts emit a frequency that can be measured. Like microwaves and gravity, can our thoughts also have an effect on the physical world? The world that we experience is simply electrical signals interpreted by our brains. Without us, it would simply be a vast collection of atoms, molecules, and energy. Visible light is only a small part of the frequency range, and is the only one that we can experience. But if we were able to experience other frequency ranges, would this open us up to other worlds?

 

The human eyes and ears are limited. Microwaves and gravity can be seen with the right equipment, but even our equipment is limited.

However, the only things that we can rationally declare as real are the ones that we can empirically observe.

 

We can observe the frequencies that the brain emits while we are dreaming, does this mean that our dreams are real?

 

Does it mean that there is a such thing as a dream? Yes.
Does it make the dream true? No.

 

What exactly do you mean by "true"?

 

Do dreams exist? Yes
Are they true? No
Are they REAL? Yes
If something exists, it is real.
They are not true because they are not exactly accurate.
A dream could be a lot of instances that ARE true put together to make one, but it still isn't true because the one that is formed never happened and PROBABLY (extreme emphasis) never will.
Everything is real if it exists.
Is magic real? Well then... to answer that question I can only ask another question: Is there anyone who can actually perform magic.
(yes I know I just added that in, but it is a good question and fits in with conversation)

 

It's hard to make an absolute answer to what is real. The only things that can rationally be acknowledged as real are what we can empirically observe, in my opinion. Some will question these as well, but that is a view I don't agree on.

Those are bad examples though, you should have picked something that can't be observe simply by using our senses, as those two are easily observable. If you put your hand in the microwave you can feel it hurting your hand (I haven't personally tested this, but it is certainly possible). Gravity is also easy to observe. Relax your muscles and you will fall to the ground.

Visible light is the only frequency we can experience? What about heat, which lies right below the visible frequencies? And, as I've already mentioned, microwaves. Other frequencies can be observed by using a variety of devices.

Yes, thoughts are real, in the sense of electrical activity in your head. Does this mean anything you imagine is real? No. Same goes for dreams, as they are essentially thoughts. Thoughts have an effect on the physical world because your body reacts to electrical impulses from the brain. With the exception of the heart, which operates on a separate circuit.

With us, it is still simply a vast collection of atoms, molecules, and energy.

 

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." - Phillip K. Dick

 

Yes, I've seen this be applied to many situations. But can someone actually how you can you prove that you exist, but not anyone else?

 

It is possible, though, to come to conclusions about things being real even if they're independent of your mind.

 

Reality is what your mind perceives it to be.

 

I think that's wrong. There are definitely certain realities. A pathological person's reality is not reality. It's their reality. There are certain objective realities.

 

Perhaps reality can be defined as what the majority of the population conceive it to be?



Edit: Microvaves and gravity affect other variables, which then in turn are able to be detected by our five senses.

 

Well, I mean, the "reality" in somewhere like America would be vastly different than somewhere like India. How is that coherent?

 

It's coherent because some things despite location would occur to be "reality" to everyone.

 

Some things, not all. It's really a contradiction.

 

As far as I could think into the subject, this pretty much sums it up.

If this is a part of any particular 'thing'(I use the word loosely), in ANY way, it is real.

EDIT:

Any other dispute, excluding this one, as I think it is a rational view, should be referred to Finn's example. That would sum a lot on the subject up.

 

The second thing I said was more along the lines of a question rather than a statement

 

You can feel gravity just fyi.

 

Ahaha, I tried to dispute this with Darren a while ago, and sure, we can't tell if we're real or not, but the Atheist part of me accepts what my brain says, and goes with it.

Anyways, reality is that which we decide. Though our senses may be faulty, we all have the same basic decision making process. We may perceive these decisions differently than others, as no two people have the same exact brain make-up, but we do all collectively make the same decisions as everyone else.

It's our perception of these differences, and our evaluation of them, which creates alternate personalities, and beliefs.

I could see a man floating in the sky, and think it's a new technology. Someone else might see it, and fall to their knees and pray.

So, when you remove the basic perceptions, and are only left with your decision making, you can rationally conclude what reality is.