How can I enjoy things if I cannot be certain they are happening?
How can I enjoy things if I cannot be certain they are happening?
For example :
I'm sitting watching a sunset.
I think "wow this is pretty"
I then remember I cannot be certain I'm actually watching this beautiful sunset, as it may not even be happening.
How could I then continue to enjoy it?
Would I just have to hope that it is?
Would my underlying belief of it I thought the sunset was in fact real or not ultimately influence my enjoyment?
For example :
I'm sitting watching a sunset.
I think "wow this is pretty"
I then remember I cannot be certain I'm actually watching this beautiful sunset, as it may not even be happening.
How could I then continue to enjoy it?
Would I just have to hope that it is?
Would my underlying belief of it I thought the sunset was in fact real or not ultimately influence my enjoyment?
Comments (16)
Just enjoy the sunset.
It doesn't matter whether it is 'real' or not.
The reality of the sunset {and most other things besides) is all you know, and most likely all you will ever know.
Because without certainty, whats to say it's actually happening?
Surely there would be as much chance that it is not?
You're using "actually" as a substitute for "certainty" there, so that you're asking a vacuous question (In other words, you're just restating "without certainty, I don't have certainty").
What's to say what's happening is experience/observation. You experience or observe a sunset, for example.
The possibility that it's not happening is not a good reason. It's possible that it's happening, too.
You have a pretty good reason to believe that it's happening--you're experiencing or observing it.
You don't have certainty that it's happening, but who cares? Care about whether you have good reasons to believe whatever you believe. You don't need certainty.
But the good reason (observing) is not certain either. It just appears to be a good reason.
What is there to say that I'm not simply seeing something entirely different?
Noting that the good reason is not certain is kind of dumb, because I didn't say that it was certain. I questioned the whole enterprise of desiring certainty, and I explicitly wrote "You don't have certainty that it's happening." Right after that, I wrote, "But who cares?"
"What is there to say" is noting that it's possible that you're seeing something entirely different.
I noted that.
And I said, "The possibility that it's not happening is not a good reason."
Why not?
Because it's possible that it's happening, too.
So you need a reason to believe other than mere possibility. On which side do you have a reason to believe that's something other than mere possibility?
It should be obvious that I couldn't care less about certainty, and I don't think you should care about it, either.
But with certainty things would be known.
Without this, in my mind, there is as much chance the sunset is happening as there is that it is not.
Yes, there are reasons which our senses may suggest it is happening. But these could be false.
How can I enjoy a view that I cannot even confirm thatvI think I am watching?
There's no reason to require certainty for knowledge.
Quoting Kranky
Explain how you're doing a probability calculation.
Quoting Kranky
"These could be false" is possibility. I've addressed that already, but to address it again:
"These could be false" is possible.
"These could be true" is possible.
"There are reasons that suggest it is happening" is something additional on the one side.
Is there anything additional on the other side?
If not, how are you arriving at the probability calculation you're arriving at?
Quoting Kranky
By not caring about something that there's no good reason to care about?
Reasons why it is true:
It may appear that it is happening.
Reaaons why it is false:
It may appear that it is not happening.
If I can't be certain that it is happening, both reasons are equally valid? I may or may not be viewing the sunset. My thoughts may be false and I'm not even viewing it.
This is so confusing, sorry
So when you're watching a sunset it may appear that it is happening, but it may not appear?
It seems like you're not familiar with the term "appear."
Ex: Sex - do you enjoy it for the sensations or the chance that it is certain.
Can you enjoy anything while while being certain it's fake? How about while unsure?
If a fake sunset was indiscernible to you from a real one is just the added info that one did happen and the other didn't enough to make one enjoyable to you and the other not?
I concede the added context of experiences being definitely fake or real can modify enjoyment but for something like [viewing a sunset] I don't see how. (any explanation would be appreciated)
Q: "How can I enjoy things if I can't be certain they are happening?"
A: If certainty is your prerequisite for enjoyment then you can't.
A: If certainty is neither the prerequisite or the primary factor then you simply will.
Certainty is a state of mind.
If you particularly seek certainty then you might try cultivating some myopia and blinkered or tunnel vision; a healthy dose of stupidity might help too.
When you watch a movie, does the fact that what you are watching is not actually happening stop you enjoying it?
No?
Then why should the fact that the sunset may not actually be happening stop you enjoying it?