Solipsism

Solipsism originates from the Latin words solus ipse, meaning "only I." In the field of philosophy, the term is used to define all theories according to which it is impossible for an individual to know anything beyond their own consciousness or mind. In other words, it is not possible for an individual to learn anything beyond their own perceptions, and the reality that to each may appear as evident and absolute.

Among the first to address such intense experiences of the self are theologian Augustine in the Middle Ages and rationalist philosopherRené Descartes in the seventeenth century. For metaphysical philosophers, who built upon Descartes' methodology, solipsism refers to a person's belief that they are the only conscious individual in the universe. A modified version is the belief that no one can know for certain—or prove—that there are other conscious persons in the universe beyond one's own self. Therefore, consensus exists among most major philosophers that solipsism cannot be effectively refuted. However, its most absolute versions are not taken seriously.

In contemporary academic circles, solipsism is studied in disciplines beyond philosophy, such as sociology and psychology.

Background

Solipsism is the position or belief that all that exists is one's own consciousness. Everything known as "reality" is nothing but the contents of an individual's own mind. From this standpoint, all other conscious beings are also contents of an individual's mind so that nobody can have full certainty of the true existence of others. Although the roots of solipsism are anchored in the ancient world, with Gorgias (483–375 BCE), and in medieval times, with Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE), theories of solipsism are the product of modern philosophy and are generally considered to have begun with René Descartes in his Meditations on First Philosophy (1641).

Descartes argued that consciousness was the knowledge, or realization, of one's own thoughts and ideas. Knowledge about any object was not true knowledge of this object as much as an idea of it, shaped in the mind by one's perceptions. Therefore, knowledge, in general, is the sum of an individual's ideas. Descartes also evinced profound skepticism regarding the experiences provided by one's senses, arguing that sensory perceptions could be deceiving; the sole proof of one's existence was the fact that one could think and reason. In philosophy, this theory is known as epistemic idealism.

In time, other philosophers began to dispute this theory. They argued that if such ideas were true, then daily actions such as voting, paying taxes, or planting and reaping a harvest would be merely products of people's imaginations. Since politicians continued to get elected and make laws, taxes continued to be collected, and food continued to be produced, clearly, such extreme experiences of individual consciousness were false. All these actions could not be the product of one's imagination. However, it is undeniable that people perceive the world through their own specific standpoint, which is shaped by their personal experiences, and no two minds are alike. This gave way to diverse kinds of solipsism theories, different from those first proposed by Descartes.

Many philosophers and scientists after Descartes addressed issues of consciousness. Among the best-known modern theories of solipsism are metaphysical solipsism, defended by eighteenth-century philosopher George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne, in his work Three Dialogues, and linguistic solipsism developed by philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the foremost philosophers of the twentieth century, in his Tractatus Logico-philosophicus. Finally, there is a field known as methodological solipsism, the position that any individual can acquire knowledge and discover reality.

Impact

Solipsism has often been the subject of scorn, especially for its most extreme position, in which it argues that the universe is nothing but the imagination of a self-conscious subject. In other words, the argument that "one's own mind is all that can be known to exist." Solipsism has also been related to subjectivism, the theory that there is no objective or external truth and radical constructivism, the theory that all knowledge is in a person's mind and based on his or her own experience; therefore, all knowledge is utterly contingent on personal experience.

However, solipsism is often applied to understanding the complexity of human relationships, known as intersubjective relationships: those that deal with one conscious self to another. Scholars and scientists have wondered for centuries about the nature of these relationships. How do they occur? How much of them are based on subjective experience, and how much on daily phenomena occurring in a material space external to one's mind? Moreover, individuals realize that many important relationships deteriorate over time, and some wonder which conditions are best for relationships to develop so that they flourish long-term. These issues are studied and debated in many fields, from international relations and diplomacy to sociology and communications.

In other fields, such as developmental psychology, it is understood that very young children and toddlers are inherently solipsistic, that is, they cannot conceive of any reality or experience that is not their own. This is known as "infant solipsism," a stage that most individuals outgrow as they mature. Clinical psychologists strive to understand the best ways to help people deal with the anomie and loneliness sometimes caused by the realization that we are alone in our subjectivity—or our most private personal thoughts and experiences. Many human beings suffer emotional and mental distress because they feel alone and isolated. In some extremes, mental illness may develop, which leads people to believe that the world around them is false and unreal. These relate to conditions known as depersonalization and solipsism syndrome.

Although many philosophers have addressed and explored issues of solipsism, none of the most influential thinkers have seriously defended the most radical position: one's mind is alone in the universe. One of the examples thinkers use to point out the incoherence of solipsism is the fact that people think in the same language, which they have learned in a social context. Moreover, they use this language to communicate with other conscious beings, making it impossible to deny the existence of other minds. Solipsism, then, denies one of the fundamental factors it needs to exist: society exists because a social instrument –a language—is necessary for the expression of our innermost thoughts. The fact that we express our thoughts in a language we hold in common with other human beings proves the existence of an exterior world with which we engage in a reciprocal manner. That is, as our actions have an impact on our environment, our environment, in turn, shapes our individual consciousness.

Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge the influence of Cartesianism, Descartes's theories, which argue that the human mind is inherently capable of autonomous reason and able to figure out the world around it. Descartes's was a revolutionary argument that placed individual consciousness—rather than the Divine—as the source of all knowledge and sparked, in time, the inception of the modern era.

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