No One Experiences An Objective World (mystic, faith, science)

[Sunstone]

I'm not sure if I've posted this here before, but it's such a striking quote that I think it's worth discussing:

“The claims of mystics are neurologically quite astute. No human being has ever experienced an objective world, or even a world at all. You are, at this moment, having a visionary experience. The world that you see and hear is nothing more than a modification of your consciousness…. This is not to say that sensory experience offers us no indication of reality at large; it is merely that, as a matter of experience, nothing arises in consciousness that has not first been structured, edited, or amplified by the nervous system.”

- Sam Harris, The End of Faith

Do you think Harris' view no one experiences an objective world is true? Why or why not?

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

I'm not sure if I've posted this here before, but it's such a striking quote that I think it's worth discussing:

“The claims of mystics are neurologically quite astute. No human being has ever experienced an objective world, or even a world at all. You are, at this moment, having a visionary experience. The world that you see and hear is nothing more than a modification of your consciousness…. This is not to say that sensory experience offers us no indication of reality at large; it is merely that, as a matter of experience, nothing arises in consciousness that has not first been structured, edited, or amplified by the nervous system.”

- Sam Harris, The End of Faith

Do you think Harris' view no one experiences an objective world is true? Why or why not?

I'd be interested in how Sam thinks he knows this.

[Sunstone]

Originally Posted by angellous_evangellous

I'd be interested in how Sam thinks he knows this.

neurology?

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

neurology?

An empirical process?

[Sunstone]

Originally Posted by angellous_evangellous

An empirical process?

Harris is going for a PhD in neuroscience, so I think it's a fair bet that he's referring here to the findings of neurologists and others.

[Buttercup]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Do you think Harris' view no one experiences an objective world is true? Why or why not?

I'd say the closest a human comes to experiencing a truly objective world is when one is a baby. Everything is new & strange, there's nothing for the brain to compare experience to.

We'd like to think of ourselves as objective when we reach adulthood but I'd agree with Sam that it's quite rare.

[Wandered Off]

I don't see how personal experience could ever be objective.