Philosophy and the Nature of Reality - Essay Example

The Nature of Reality Reality usually connected with the idea of Truth, and used in contrast with the idea of fantasy or illusion. If one speaksabout the ultimate reality, it can even lead to the concept of God, in its religious and agnostic aspects. The question is, how do we realize what reality is, or how can one ever separate reality from the intricate web of real and unreal objects and ideas that surround us? The oriental philosophy of Maya defines the entire world and its existence as an illusion. When one confronts the issue of reality versus illusion, the deceptive nature of the materialistic aspects of the world and the precepts of good and evil in it have to be taken into account. I propose to carry out an enquiry into the elements of illusion in the life that we take for real and the relevance of our willed existence in it. My contention is that the nature of reality is essentially a construct of human imagination in relation to the socio-political and cultural existence, and the extend to which one can affect or alter the reality depends on one’s willed existence. The philosophical precepts of Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche are explored in relation to this argument which hopes to deconstruct the conventional implications of the idea of reality. Life exists in this world in relation to various other forms of existence, both animate and inanimate. Human beings develop a sense of consciousness towards these myriad forms of experience through age-old conventions transmitted through generations. Even as homo sapiens claim to be the most sophisticated, complexly evolved and fit for survival species on the face of the earth, the perceived notions of the words surrounding them is the most corrupted in relation to that of the other life forms. Human beings have surpassed the necessity to follow the instinctual urges for survival by making the world a safe place for them. This has in fact led to a state where their sensibilities are formed with reference to preconceived notions, which are in most cases misrepresentations, with regard to the nature of reality that surrounds them. A child of the contemporary world comes to reality not only through the information that its parents, teachers, elders and peers transmit to it, but also with the judicious use of the myriad possibilities of information technology. Even then, the possibilities of coming to direct contact with reality are restricted to the child. IT may come to know that some animals are to be feared and some to be used, but it may never realize that these are not real realities, but realities constructed on a utilitarian, speciesist outlook. The reason to fear some animals and to exploit some others is related to the existence of a world which is created on an illusion that human beings have to power to alter the existing order of reality. The kind of education one receives at a young assures the power human beings, as individuals and communities have over nature. But this is not true, if one is willing to analyze the ability of nature, which consists of various forms of existence not inferior in any way to the organized human existence, is capable of effecting consequences. It goes without saying that human beings are constantly reminded of the cause and effect relationship between them and the world/nature. Be it a tsunami or some other natural calamities, or the constant fear climate change in relation to global warming, it is high time human beings realize the fact that the world that surrounds them does not remain passive to their acts. No matter how hard one tries to conduct futuristic, proactive research on the nature of reality, there still remains much more that is unveiled than the ones understood. The entire process of scientific research and inventions substantiate that there is no permanent marker for reality. It may be true that reality remains the same, but even the most sophisticated scientific research falls short of comprehending it permanently and finds consolation in various ways of understanding reality, with reference to the changing times and developing knowledge systems. The German Schopenhauer, in his The World as Will and Idea revolves that major idea of the world as will, and therefore strife, and therefore misery. Often seen as the pessimistic philosopher of the early nineteenth century, Schopenhauer begins the book with the famous words, “the world is my idea”. The very nature of reality can thus be understood in the view of Schopenhauer as something that people create. If reality is created by those who inhabit the world, how many realities can be created? And if one speaks of a reality as an entity that transcends the restricted, subjective viewpoints, can any of these realities be considered the ultimate reality? Schopenhauer does not intend to create metaphysical puzzles for his readers, but he points to the temporal nature of the world and how it remains what one likes to perceive in it. He does not discount the essential nature of reality, but reveals the difficulties involved in unraveling it. He finds it impossible to discover the secret essence of reality. According to him, “We can never arrive at the real nature of things from without. However much we investigate, we can never reach anything but images and names. We are like a man who goes round a castle seeking vain for an entrance, and sometimes sketching the facades.” When the nature of reality is so hard to understand, the best way one can deal with the situation is to understand the illusory nature of what we perceive as reality. Schopenhauer provides the idea of a ‘will to live’, the significant element of getting in terms with the disputed idea of reality by taking a conscious effort to be an active element in the constructed reality. Friedrich Nietzsche, another highly influential German philosopher of the latter period of the nineteenth century wrote in his characteristic rebellious manner to discounts the ways in which philosophical endeavors prior to him, mainly from Germany and England have tried to understand the nature of reality. Nietzsche posits the idea of the ‘will to power’ which goes a step ahead of Schopenhauer’s ‘will to live’. According to Nietzsche, the nature of reality is complicated by the moralistic concepts that people have developed through the ages. His endeavor is to go beyond the conventional norms related to ideas of good and evil and to come to terms with the deceitful nature of reality and gain, in the post-Darwinian spirit, to develop the power to exist. This ideology has led to existentialist philosophy that traces the essential nature misery and lack of fulfillment in life. Nietzsche proposes the necessity to come to terms with the existential angst involved in life and to overcome it with the power that transcends all preconceived notions related to morality and the nature of reality. The basic nature of life and its quality has undergone drastic changes since human beings have tried to interrogate them in philosophical terms. Those who are concerned about the nature of reality have to acknowledge the elements of illusion that are necessarily involved in defining reality and nurture a state of mind that is willing to transcend all preconceived notions with regard to the world. The ‘will to live’ and the ‘will to power’ seems to be need of the hour in an age where the nature of reality if defined and altered by every single act from the part of all the forms of existence I then world. As human beings are ostensibly the most sophisticated and evolved species, it is they have to carry the heavy burden of contributing the most towards the nature of reality. Read More