Immaterialism and Insanity

[Doc. Q]

For anybody familiar with the works of you should remember that he states that because we all experience reality through our senses and only perceive idea's of things outside our mind that there is no concrete evidence for a material world.

What Berkeley believes is that we are all immaterial spirits or self conscious thoughts:

'I do nevertheless know, that I who am a spirit or thinking substance, exist as certainly, as I know my ideas exist. Farther, I know what I mean by the terms I and myself; and I know this immediately, or intuitively, though I do not perceive it as I perceive a triangle, a colour, or a sound.'

And that once things (inanimate objects) stop being immediately known by perceiving things they cease to exist. He says that god has a role in this way of life by being everywhere and perceiving everything so that all is maintained even when nobody is around to perceive it.


My question: Since we are all some form of conscious thought in his method how does that affect people who see disturbing, violent things through insanity? Doesn't this by extension mean that God must be purposefully giving these spirits these horrible illusions, because they have no physical reason to see these terrible things as they have no bodies?

anybody have any input or thoughts on this?

 

[Akamori*]

Our senses interpret our surroundings using our mind, so what is interpreted within our mind of our surroundings would make the surroundings exist based on the minds interpretation of them.

To answer you question, the brain itself can be damaged chemically or physically so that is unable to interpret the surrounding because the signal is unrecieved. The same could be said for the senses malfunctioning and being unable to send signals to the brain. Or both could be damaged.

 

[Moses]

In effect, I can't answer this question according to that philosophy, but for my own philosophy of Conciousness and the Universe. Our Conciouness, our "mind" creates what we see in the universe. Generally, this means that in the case of the Insane person, there is some sort of spiritual imbalance that cause the mind to give the wrong image.

 

[Riku]

Is God responsible for one's insanity?
See, I think thats highly unlikely.

We were all born with senses.
But however...
There's a spiritual sense that can come to reality when we answer to the call of God.
If we do not...we will be left with nothing but our 5 basic senses.

God does not allow someone to see terrible things, unless in some way it falls into his divine plan...which nobody can understand.

the insane. How else will anyone know what it is that the insane see unless we enter their very soul. We don't know the answer. I'm sure many people CAN look at life through the eyes of them...but still, insane is more like the thoughts of a person gone out of control...not their visions.

^ just my opinion. if I come back next year I can probably give you details..I'll be taking psychology over the summer and then for my first semester.