Many people do not like solipsism because it states that you are the only person who definitely exists; everything else may just be a figment of your imagination. It is somewhat of a lonesome theory, but it is the only ideal philosophy since it is based solely on logic and contains no intuition or feelings.
The best way to describe solipsism is to imagine that you are in a dream (for a more modern twist, you are in your own private “matrix”). Everything you experience and feel is all in this dream. All the objects, plants, animals and people are part of it. Even your own body is just part of the dream.
The people in this dream are the most important part. Do they think for themselves or are they just acting the way you expect them to act? Remember that it is your own dream and everything they do is in your head. You cannot prove they are acting for themselves; you can only prove that it is your dream. This describes “The Problem of Other Minds,” which is a critical part of solipsism.
Now imagine that you cannot wake up from this dream (or that there is nothing but certain death outside of the matrix). That is what solipsism is.
One argument against solipsism supports the idea that other people can have feelings and thoughts based upon the fact that other people feel pain. If you see someone acting hurt you can understand and relate to their pain. Therefore their thoughts and feelings must be similar to yours. I disagree with this train of thought and present my own analogy: if someone has an itchy nose, they sneeze. You have no proof they actually felt itchy, except that you saw them sneeze. Solipsism goes against the common idea that observation equals proof. An observation is merely something you perceive and proof is something that is absolutely correct. In solipsism is it understandable difficult to prove anything.
Solipsism may sound like a lonely philosophy, but it does not mean that everything around you is not real. Every person you meet still has a personality and a life; food still tastes good. The only thing different is what you believe. Do you believe in solipsism?
If not, I challenge you to find a simpler life-philosophy or to prove that solipsism is incorrect.
