Appearance and Reality Philosophy

Reality vs. ? Made by humans  Artificial (artificial heart) Element of deception  Fake  Counterfeit

Reality vs. ? Fully and completely deserving the name--a real friend Having all the attributes that that kind of thing should have

Reality vs. ? Could not have a basis  Imaginary  Fictitious  Supposed Could have a basis, but doesn't  Theoretical  Simulated

Reality vs. ? Nonexistent—does not exist Potential—could exist, but doesn't Contingent—did exist, but doesn't currently exist Apparent—seems to exist, but doesn't

Reality vs. ? False

Appearances Illusions of the senses  Bent stick in water  Rainbow Illusions of the mind Illusions of society

Optical Illusions

Illusions of Thought False Beliefs Unsupported beliefs that are thought to be supported Superstitions Magical Thinking Especially prevalent in social movements, such as  Religion  Politics  Finance

Final Question How do we determine whether a thing is real or not?

Basic Questions of Being Thing  Parts vs. Wholes Something  Types of Opposition Identity Causality Completeness

Split-Brain Experiment Split-Brain occurs when the Corpus Callosum is severed as a treatment for epilepsy Four pictures are placed in front of the subject, and each hemisphere is presented with a picture that is related to one of these four pictures. Each hemispheres easily pick the card that matches what is projected to it. The subject was then asked why the left hand points to the card it does. The left hemisphere makes up a story to rationalize the choice.

Humans as Storytellers Humans need to make up stories to make the world understandable. The interpreter part of the brain constructs theories about why we do what we do. Most of the stories we tell ourselves are only loosely connected with what is happening in the real world.