What does "ultimate reality" even refer to, exactly?popeye1945 wrote: ↑May 11th, 2021, 7:36 am After viewing this post, I think I understand you better. When you state that a steering wheel and a bumper are not a "whole" car, what you are saying is that you think the "self" is a whole -- or it should be. If you see the "self" as a whole that identifies with a specific body, what you are describing is a "soul".
That could come off looking like an illusion as "self" does not work that way. Self is more a perspective than it is an identity, so the steering wheel is a "whole" steering wheel and the bumper is a "whole" bumper and the car is a "whole" car. The square inch of metal that makes up part of the bumper is a whole square inch of metal. Many people believe that the Universe is a whole and therefore has a self -- I can't doubt it. quote
Hi Gee,
Greater than the sum of its parts, but my thought is the spectrum of perception in order to know ultimate reality you must perceive what you do not, indeed what you cannot. Perception is reaction, the senses are limitations as well as enablers and apparent reality is a biological readout that does not perceive/react to the totality/the sum of its parts. The apparent reality is a biological expression of its reactions. Experience is always real and true to the experiencer but is an illusion to ultimate reality, so in some sense, the experiencer is one with its totality of reactions incomplete. You state the self is more a perspective than an identity, I would say experience is everything the self then is its perception/reaction to its environment which is true to itself but is itself illusion, it is a biological reaction, it is the self, it is an illusion that lives within its own illusion.
At any rate, accurately knowing some of reality is enough. Even if it's just a steering wheel.