Introduction to Solipsism

One of the most simple, yet powerful philosophical theories, solipsistic ideals have existed for centuries.

“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” René Descartes has had an undeniable influence on modern philosophy as a proponent of solipsism. Solipsism, simply, is the theory that nothing but the self is verifiable. The idea of solipsism has become almost something of a popular culture reference, though under a different name. Movies such as Inception and The Matrix popularized the fictional situation in which a character is unable to know if they are still dreaming, as they continuously wake up from dreams. The movies ultimately leave the viewer with confusion, not knowing if the characters are still dreaming, and wondering if they themselves are dreaming.

Descartes words questioned reality as a scientific revolution swept the western world. As others sought to understand the world, Descartes questioned it. His cogitations led to “cogito ergo sum”: I think, therefore I am. He used thought as a way to qualify human existence. As a human, one can only rely upon one’s senses and mind. Thoughts can only be thought, they can never truly be put into existence, for all that one knows of the outside world can be false. Through our knowledge of science, we know that the information of the outside world is passed into our mind through pathways, and theses can be hijacked. Thus, we cannot use our senses as a true measurement of reality, rather as our body interpreting something for reality. For example: to me, my existence seems completely undeniable, whereas to someone else my existence may be questionable. Writing this, it is clear to me that I exist, but I have no way to prove it to anyone else. Anyone can come up to me and tell me with utmost certainty that they exist, but will have no way of proving it. The nature of existence is not something that can be proved, because it comes from within ourselves. Solipsism has been a part of philosophy for millennia, with origins in eastern Philosophy. Some of the basic principles are present there. Taoism, and several interpretations of Buddhism, teach that the self and the universe are not distinct from each other. That the boundary between the two is a lot more blurred. In this manner, one views the self and the universe as co-reliant. The self cannot exist without the universe, and the universe without the self. While the current concept of solipsism is less mystical, and more of a skeptic’s view of the universe, the self is not always held as independent from the rest of the universe.