Solipsism

{{Sources needed}}
{{solipsism}}
{{philosophy}}
{{cquote|Because we only really known ourselves, it's a natural tendency to have a solipsistic [[Worldview|view of the world]]. We incorrectly assume that other people's logic and motivations resemble our own. But, of course, they have different backstories and baggage.|||Kate Murphy<ref>''You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters'' by Kate Murphy (2020) Celadon Books. ISBN 1250297192.</ref>{{rp|127}}}}

'''Epistemological solipsism''' is the philosophical viewpoint that nothing can be proven beyond the existence of the self. Popularly identified with the phrase [[René Descartes|''Cogito ergo sum'']] (''I think, therefore I am''), solipsism holds that no perception felt by the [[mind]] can be regarded as truly verifiable, and so the existence of anything caused by that perception is not certain. Hence, nothing outside the mind of the observer can be [[rational]]ly confirmed. 

Unlike the similar viewpoint of "subjectivism", solipsism goes beyond mere [[skepticism]] of just objective [[reality]] and regards the existence of ''other'' minds, or observers, as being uncertain as well.

More extremely, '''metaphysical solipsism''' is the position that I am the only person who exists or who has ever existed; that other people are mere figments of my imagination; that there is no [[Universe]] outside of myself, and hence the universe began when I began and the Universe will end when I end… Unless I'm a figment of somebody else's imagination. Nevertheless it can be an incredibly hard idea to shake for some people, especially those with [[dissociative identity disorder]].

If solipsism sounds abstract and unreal, bear in mind that it may seep into [[pop psychology]] [[self-help]] woo as in the form of Werner Erhard's [[Erhard Seminars Training|EST]] {{lived|1971|1984}} or the derivative [[Landmark Forum]] (1991 onwards),<ref>''Hungry for Ecstasy: Trauma, the Brain, and the Influence of the Sixties'' by Sharon Klayman Farber (201) Jason Aronson. ISBN 9780765708588. Erhard's early involvement with [[Scientology]] profoundly influenced the development of est and years later, the Landmark Forum. … Est, the prototypical self-help therapy, [...] attacked the thinking process directly. [...]  Although est does not acknowledge having a belief system, it seems to be essentially a solipsistic one, meaning that the self is the only thing that can be known and verified or that the external world and other minds cannot be known and might not exist. … EST was a real mind fucker.</ref>{{rp|131}} and [[Christianity]] ([[name it and claim it]]).<ref>[https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/accommodation-or-engagement Accommodation or Engagement?] by Peter Steinfels (April 23, 2012) ''Commonweal''.</ref>

You know how most people tend to come to the realization everyone else is a [[human being]] with their own thoughts, lives, beliefs, emotions and wants? This is the polar opposite idea.

As a side note, solipsism will ''not'' save you if you are confronted with a life-threatening event such as a gun-wielding [[psychopath]], a ravenous tiger, a burning building, or oncoming traffic. Deadly things can kill you regardless of whether or not you acknowledge their existence. Use [[common sense]].{{fact|joke}}

==See also==
*[[Brain in a vat]]
*[[Egotheism]]
*[[Hyperianism]]
*[[Idealism]]
*[[Last Thursdayism]]
*[[Pyrrhonism]]
*[[Simulated reality]]

==External links==
*[http://www.iep.utm.edu/solipsis/ Solipsism and the Problem of Other Minds by Stephen Thornton] on the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
{{stub|philosophy}}

Categories: Logic, Philosophy