Post by º42ºWøwbâggër on Jun 5, 2006 7:27:38 GMT -5
Hey 42 chums,
I wrote this essay for philosophy class. Props to who ever reads it all.
(I based it on my favorite book: the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)
One morning (let’s make it a Thursday morning), two close friends were chatting about something completely irrelevant, although the word ‘fish’ oddly kept popping into one of their thoughts. These two friends were then rather rudely told that the Earth was to be demolished shortly after their tea, not to mention that their biscuits were stolen while they were in a state of disbelief. After much debate about who actually ate the last biscuit, with a stroke of luck, they were both carelessly thrown (but not so carelessly that they didn’t land on something soft) onto a spacecraft. One of the people believed in common sense: what a person does in their everyday life is real to them. The other person was a materialist: one who believes that physical objects (things that consist of a material structure) are real, and can be detected by the senses. The common sense person would panic immediately. He would be worried about finding the quickest way he could get out of this situation, and go back to his everyday life. He would also be trying to deny the whole thing: act as if it is not happening. The common sense person would have a startled and confused look on his face while looking around and asking the nearby ceiling, “Am I on Candid Camera?”
While on this spaceship, if both people were asked, “is this real?” their answers would vary. The common sense person’s mind would not accept what was going on and would deny the whole situation. His answer would be “no”. However, the materialist would look around, feel the walls, and smell the air: use his senses. He would easily see that everything is made of matter, accept it for what it is, and say that it is real. But the question still remains, “is it real?” There are only two people in this given situation who represent only two theories, and yet the answers are different. Could this mean that reality is flawed, and that everything is real? Or could it mean that one theory is right and everybody else is wrong? But which theory is correct? Each one has a clear definition and is justified well. This cannot be the answer. Also, not everything can be said to be real, for most theories disprove each other. For example, idealism and materialism are opposites.
Could the answer be that maybe the definition of reality is completely flawed, and there is no such thing? In any given situation, the answer for reality would always be different. Some theories would argue that an object is real, while other theories would dabate they are not real. Each theory contradicts the next theory. Their answers disprove each other, and hence nothing is left. Could one consider that there is no such thing as reality altogether?
The philosophical discussion and topic of reality plays a major role in metaphysics. In turn, metaphysics is (if not) one of the oldest forms of philosophy found in our history. The word metaphysics can simply be defined as: a branch of philosophy that is concerned with explaining the world. However, centuries before science was practiced, the only method of explaining how things work and people think was through discussion and questioning. Cannot philosophy, therefore, be defined as the act of questioning?
Aristotle played a very important role in early metaphysics. He became very interested in how the world worked altogether. This he named physics. For his unique thoughts, he can be considered the ‘father’ of metaphysics. Many philosophers followed his steps in trying to explain how the world works. A non-scientific branch that stems from this is the question of reality, “what is reality?”
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a trilogy of five novels by an English author, Douglas Adams. The very beginning of these books show the Earth being demolished to make room for a new hyperspace bypass. Luckily, Arthur Dent, (who is from Earth) is saved by his friend Ford Prefect (who is originally from Betelgeuse) by hitchhiking a ride. After Arthur’s life is saved, they meet up with Ford’s old friend Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, and a depressed robot, Marvin. They travel and adventure across the universe which provide the ultimate gastronomic experiences. Along the way, Arthur learns the importance of a towel. Even though there are philosophical questions within Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (like, what is the meaning of life?), different characters are used to represent various theories of reality.
Materialism is one of the most common views on reality. When the majority of people are asked, “what is reality?” it is common for them to say that reality consists of physical objects, or something that can be detected by using our senses. Also, it is the simplest theory to understand and come up with. As an example, if this question of reality is asked of a child, the definition of Materialism would likely be the answer. This is not because they are less significant than adults, but because it is the easiest theory to grasp. With this in mind, it should be noted that Materialism is believed by a wide range of people – from the simple to the scientists. Most scientists are materialists. This is because science (one of the most complex and up-to-date studies) is supported by Materialism (the simplest theory of reality).
In the book Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, materialism is best represented and shown through the character Trillian. Trillian is a human who was taken from the Earth a few weeks before a party crasher demolished it at a fancy dress party. She travels and adventures across the universe with Zaphond Beeblebrox. Even though Trillian has lived her whole life on Earth, she does not seem to act or react any differently to odd situations she is thrust into. For example, when they are at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, an odd cow-like creature offers them various cuts of meat – from himself; the creature is happy to be cooked and served, perhaps braised in a white wine sauce. It ends with them ordering four rare steaks from this creature (not something a restaurant might offer these days). This is what happens:
“A matter of minutes late the waiter arrived with four huge steaming steaks. Zaphod and Ford wolfed straight into them without a second’s hesitation. Trillian paused, then shrugged and started into hers.” (Page 286)
Even in a sticky situation as this, Trillian behaves the way she would on Earth. No matter what she is doing, she would never ask herself “am I dreaming?” or “is this real?” As long as Trillian could detect the things and people around her by using her senses, the question of reality would not ever be considered.
On the other hand, there is Arthur Dent. Arthur (another character in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) represents a seperate theory on reality: common sense. Unlike Trillian, Arthur would not say that an object was real if it were simply made of matter, but would say something was real if it were involved in his everyday life (or, more broadly, from Earth). For example, if both Arthur and Trillian were put into a room with a weird alien creature, reality might become an issue. Trillian would notice that it is made up of a material structure (not to mention that she would notice its weird alien stench), and without hesitation, would say that it is real. Arthur, however, would be much more hesitant. He would look up at the alien, look back down at his shoes to make sure they were tied, which they would be, look up at Trillian, and uncomfortably notice that she would be giving him a this-alien-is-sitting-right-in-front-of-you-of-course-it’s-real look, then think about the situation awhile longer. In the end, Arthur would admit that he does not think the alien is real because it is not part of his daily life, nor is it from Earth. So, is the alien real? It is obvious that the alien is in fact real because of what Trillian said, and it is equally obvious that it is not real because of what Arthur said. It is a commonly known fact that something can exist and at the same time not exist; much the same way one cannot bite into a lemon with a poker face. Hence, the situation disproves itself, and reality cannot altogether exist.
Very sadly, the weird alien creature is feeling quiet depressed. It has just been told that it is real, bringing warmth to its heart, and shortly afterward, is told that it is not real. And just to make its day even worse, it has been proven that reality does not exist. There is nothing like a good solid kick in the head. Half of the alien’s brain was thinking: “You know, it’s at times like this, when I’m in a small room with two people who can’t figure out a way to stop arguing and just keep their mouths shut (not to mention their awful human stench) that I really wish I’d listened to what my mother told me when I was young.” The other half of its brain would then reply: “Why, what did she tell you?” The first side of the brain would then say: “I don’t know, I didn’t listen.”
Common sense, like materialism, is another view on reality. It can simply be defined as what people experience in their everyday life is real to them. However, common sense does not stand on its’ own. It is usually incorporated with another theory on reality. For example, a person can believe both in common sense and materialism. This person would think that objects consisting of material structures are real, however it would be difficult for them to accept and think that something is real when that object is not familiar to them. An example within this example: If a person were to witness an event on television (for example, the brutal murder of children in the streets of a foreign nation), it would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to accept it as real, since it is unfamiliar to them.
In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent fits the common sense concept perfectly. Throughout most of the book, Arthur is very panicky and paranoid. This is because he is traveling across the universe, far and wide, a very unfamiliar place; a place that he cannot call home. Everything he does while traveling with his companion(s) is not familiar to his everyday life on Earth. He discovers that the Galaxy not only is mind-boggling, big and bewildering, but also that most of the things that happen in it are staggeringly unfair. Throughout the books, Arthur is put into very odd situations that are nothing like what he does in his everyday life; and because of this, he does not think they are real. The following is an odd situation he is put into:
“A matter of minutes late the waiter arrived with four huge steaming steaks. Zaphod and Ford wolfed straight into them without a second’s hesitation. Trillian paused, then shrugged and started into hers.
Arthur stared at his feeling slightly ill.” (Page 286)
Arthur realizes that he is not acting himself while traveling across the universe. He believes that he is not built for this kind of life and realizes the difference between his old everyday life (on Earth) and his strange traveling across the universe life.
“In his mind the Universe still divided into two parts – the Earth, and everything else.” (Page 348)
There is an easy was to get around both materialism and common sense. If a common senses person falls in love for the first time, how would they know it’s real? Since it’s something they have never experienced, they would be unfamiliar to it. Also, a good way to confuse a materialist is to ask, “is love real?” According to the definition of materialism, love is not real, for it does not consist of a material structure made of matter. This is where idealism comes in.
Idealism is another theory of reality. It states that all that exists does so in he mind. Breaking that down a little bit, idealists say that ideas, concepts (and the mind itself) are real, and physical objects are not. It can be clearly seen that there is a huge contrast between materialism and idealism. Idealism is one of the first four original theories on reality. One of the first philosophers to believe and defend idealism was none other than Plato. However, his version of the theory was a more religious approach to what most people think when they are told of idealism. Plato highly believed that there were two worlds: the visible world that is made up of physical objects, and the ideal world. The ideal world is what he considered to be real, and superior to the physical world. Of coarse, back when Plato was alive, everything and everyone was very religious, and Plato’s belief tied in deeply with religion.
In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the character Marvin (the paranoid android) represents idealism fairly well. It is ironic how a robot is representing the theory on reality built from thoughts and ideas. However, this is because Marvin is a personality prototype, which basically means he has a personality. Sadly enough, he did not get a very good personality, and is very, very depressed. In fact, everything that happens in the book either makes him depressed, or even more depressed than he already is.
“’Sorry, did I say something wrong?’ said Marvin dragging himself on regardless. ‘Pardon me for breathing, which I never do anyway so I don’t know why I bother to say it, oh God I’m so depressed. Here’s another of those self-satisfied doors. Life! Don’t talk to me about life.’
‘No one even mentioned it,’ muttered Arthur” (Page 87)
However, there is one thing in the book that makes Marvin feel “good about it.” (I don’t, however, want to say what it is, because it will ruin a large part of the fourth book: So Long and Thanks For All the Fish). In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy it can easily be said that Marvin drowns in his own sorrow. No matter what is going on around him, he is very depressed and doesn’t care. The only things he would say that are real are his feelings (depression) and his views on life and the universe (how very boring and depressing it is). He would not, however, think that physical objects are real. Marvin’s ideas and thoughts override any physical object, and he knows that no physical being object could ever understand him.
Like Idealism, supernaturalism is one of the oldest theories of reality. However, supernaturalism is the most religious theory. Those who highly believe in supernaturalism believe that there is a great being (which they would say is real) and anything created from this great being is also real. For example, a Christian supernaturalist would say that whatever is written in the Bible is real. It is an old theory and concept, but it still holds its purpose in a religious perspective.
The character who represents supernaturalism in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is Zaphod Beeblebrox. He is the president of the universe. It may be strange that Zaphod is representing supernaturalism, being that he is not religious in anyway. However, Zaphod does believe in something that can sort of be said to be a great being. Late in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Zaphod tells his companions that part of his brain is blocked off from him, and once in a while he receives a thought from that part of the brain. This untouchable part of his brain acts as a great being to him. Also, when he gets a random thought from there, he follows through with the idea. Oddly enough, it’s these ideas that he considers real, no matter what they are. For example, Zaphod received an idea from the blocked part of his brain to become president of the universe. Most people would ignore this and carry on with his day if he randomly got this idea. But Zaphod, being the fraud, (an amazingly together guy) actually follows through with this idea, and does it.
In comparison: a religious supernaturalist would believe in a great being who is real along with what they have created. Zaphod Beeblebrox believes that his blocked part of this brain is real along with the random thoughts and ideas he receives from it.
Another theory of reality is realism. In realism, reality consists of ideal forms; these ideal forms are essence and never change. Realism can easily be incorporated into religion. A religious person who believes in realism can say that God is the essence of human beings: the perfect human image that we are created from. However, someone who is not religious, and believes in realism would say that everything has an ideal form. For example, he would believe that there is an ideal form chair. This chair would be ‘the perfect chair’, and all chairs are made from it (but do no look exactly like it). The character in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy however, is also not religious. Ford Prefect is the character that best represents realism. In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Ford is an author for an electronic book called the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It is very similar to an encyclopedia, but it is designed for hitchhikers, and how to survive in the universe. To Ford, entries in the guide are of the essence to him. For example, if he looked up a type of fish from an alien planet on the Guide, the description of the fish (essence to him) is what reality truly is.
During the first book in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Zaphod receives a random thought that he believes to be an amazing idea. Ford, on the other hand, does not think it is such an amazing idea. Zaphod’s amazing idea (which others do not think is so amazing) is to find a lost planet called Magrathea.
Ford quickly enters it into the Guide and realizes that Magrathae is more of a legend apposed to a lost planet (kind of like Atlantis). He therefore does not believe that it is real. However, even after hearing this, Zaphod still thinks it is very real. Oddly enough, Zaphod also receives thoughts from his blocked out part of his brain on how to find his legend of a planet. Their argument goes in very much the same way as two drunk friends arguing over the keys to a car while trying to kindly explain to one another that they are terribly drunk and are in no condition to drive, if this planet is real or not.
Very similar to Trillian and Arthur’s argument, the planet can be proven real and non-real by both Zaphod and Ford. And because of this, reality disproves itself, and reality cannot exist altogether.
Now imagine if you will, a man who has lived in a shack his entire life. What would he think reality would be? Would he believe that reality is physical objects made of matter, or would he think that it consisted of thought and ideas? Taking a few steps back, would this man think that he is in a physical shack, or would he think that his whole life in the shack has been part of his imagination?
Now, consider what would happen if someone would visit this man and his shack, what would he then think? It could be possible that the man would think that what he sees is not actually happening. Also imagine that it is raining outside.
“ ’Are you wet?’
Zaphod looked at him in astonishment.
‘Wet?’ he cried. ‘Doesn’t it look as if we’re wet?’
‘That’s how it looks to me,’ said the man, ‘but how you feel about it might be an altogether different matter.’ ” (Page 355)
So, the question remains, ‘What is reality?’ Since there are so many theories and concepts that can be believed, each one of them can strongly be justified. Since they contradict one another, reality cannot exist and therefore, there is no such thing as reality.
I wrote this essay for philosophy class. Props to who ever reads it all.
(I based it on my favorite book: the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)
One morning (let’s make it a Thursday morning), two close friends were chatting about something completely irrelevant, although the word ‘fish’ oddly kept popping into one of their thoughts. These two friends were then rather rudely told that the Earth was to be demolished shortly after their tea, not to mention that their biscuits were stolen while they were in a state of disbelief. After much debate about who actually ate the last biscuit, with a stroke of luck, they were both carelessly thrown (but not so carelessly that they didn’t land on something soft) onto a spacecraft. One of the people believed in common sense: what a person does in their everyday life is real to them. The other person was a materialist: one who believes that physical objects (things that consist of a material structure) are real, and can be detected by the senses. The common sense person would panic immediately. He would be worried about finding the quickest way he could get out of this situation, and go back to his everyday life. He would also be trying to deny the whole thing: act as if it is not happening. The common sense person would have a startled and confused look on his face while looking around and asking the nearby ceiling, “Am I on Candid Camera?”
While on this spaceship, if both people were asked, “is this real?” their answers would vary. The common sense person’s mind would not accept what was going on and would deny the whole situation. His answer would be “no”. However, the materialist would look around, feel the walls, and smell the air: use his senses. He would easily see that everything is made of matter, accept it for what it is, and say that it is real. But the question still remains, “is it real?” There are only two people in this given situation who represent only two theories, and yet the answers are different. Could this mean that reality is flawed, and that everything is real? Or could it mean that one theory is right and everybody else is wrong? But which theory is correct? Each one has a clear definition and is justified well. This cannot be the answer. Also, not everything can be said to be real, for most theories disprove each other. For example, idealism and materialism are opposites.
Could the answer be that maybe the definition of reality is completely flawed, and there is no such thing? In any given situation, the answer for reality would always be different. Some theories would argue that an object is real, while other theories would dabate they are not real. Each theory contradicts the next theory. Their answers disprove each other, and hence nothing is left. Could one consider that there is no such thing as reality altogether?
The philosophical discussion and topic of reality plays a major role in metaphysics. In turn, metaphysics is (if not) one of the oldest forms of philosophy found in our history. The word metaphysics can simply be defined as: a branch of philosophy that is concerned with explaining the world. However, centuries before science was practiced, the only method of explaining how things work and people think was through discussion and questioning. Cannot philosophy, therefore, be defined as the act of questioning?
Aristotle played a very important role in early metaphysics. He became very interested in how the world worked altogether. This he named physics. For his unique thoughts, he can be considered the ‘father’ of metaphysics. Many philosophers followed his steps in trying to explain how the world works. A non-scientific branch that stems from this is the question of reality, “what is reality?”
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a trilogy of five novels by an English author, Douglas Adams. The very beginning of these books show the Earth being demolished to make room for a new hyperspace bypass. Luckily, Arthur Dent, (who is from Earth) is saved by his friend Ford Prefect (who is originally from Betelgeuse) by hitchhiking a ride. After Arthur’s life is saved, they meet up with Ford’s old friend Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, and a depressed robot, Marvin. They travel and adventure across the universe which provide the ultimate gastronomic experiences. Along the way, Arthur learns the importance of a towel. Even though there are philosophical questions within Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (like, what is the meaning of life?), different characters are used to represent various theories of reality.
Materialism is one of the most common views on reality. When the majority of people are asked, “what is reality?” it is common for them to say that reality consists of physical objects, or something that can be detected by using our senses. Also, it is the simplest theory to understand and come up with. As an example, if this question of reality is asked of a child, the definition of Materialism would likely be the answer. This is not because they are less significant than adults, but because it is the easiest theory to grasp. With this in mind, it should be noted that Materialism is believed by a wide range of people – from the simple to the scientists. Most scientists are materialists. This is because science (one of the most complex and up-to-date studies) is supported by Materialism (the simplest theory of reality).
In the book Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, materialism is best represented and shown through the character Trillian. Trillian is a human who was taken from the Earth a few weeks before a party crasher demolished it at a fancy dress party. She travels and adventures across the universe with Zaphond Beeblebrox. Even though Trillian has lived her whole life on Earth, she does not seem to act or react any differently to odd situations she is thrust into. For example, when they are at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, an odd cow-like creature offers them various cuts of meat – from himself; the creature is happy to be cooked and served, perhaps braised in a white wine sauce. It ends with them ordering four rare steaks from this creature (not something a restaurant might offer these days). This is what happens:
“A matter of minutes late the waiter arrived with four huge steaming steaks. Zaphod and Ford wolfed straight into them without a second’s hesitation. Trillian paused, then shrugged and started into hers.” (Page 286)
Even in a sticky situation as this, Trillian behaves the way she would on Earth. No matter what she is doing, she would never ask herself “am I dreaming?” or “is this real?” As long as Trillian could detect the things and people around her by using her senses, the question of reality would not ever be considered.
On the other hand, there is Arthur Dent. Arthur (another character in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) represents a seperate theory on reality: common sense. Unlike Trillian, Arthur would not say that an object was real if it were simply made of matter, but would say something was real if it were involved in his everyday life (or, more broadly, from Earth). For example, if both Arthur and Trillian were put into a room with a weird alien creature, reality might become an issue. Trillian would notice that it is made up of a material structure (not to mention that she would notice its weird alien stench), and without hesitation, would say that it is real. Arthur, however, would be much more hesitant. He would look up at the alien, look back down at his shoes to make sure they were tied, which they would be, look up at Trillian, and uncomfortably notice that she would be giving him a this-alien-is-sitting-right-in-front-of-you-of-course-it’s-real look, then think about the situation awhile longer. In the end, Arthur would admit that he does not think the alien is real because it is not part of his daily life, nor is it from Earth. So, is the alien real? It is obvious that the alien is in fact real because of what Trillian said, and it is equally obvious that it is not real because of what Arthur said. It is a commonly known fact that something can exist and at the same time not exist; much the same way one cannot bite into a lemon with a poker face. Hence, the situation disproves itself, and reality cannot altogether exist.
Very sadly, the weird alien creature is feeling quiet depressed. It has just been told that it is real, bringing warmth to its heart, and shortly afterward, is told that it is not real. And just to make its day even worse, it has been proven that reality does not exist. There is nothing like a good solid kick in the head. Half of the alien’s brain was thinking: “You know, it’s at times like this, when I’m in a small room with two people who can’t figure out a way to stop arguing and just keep their mouths shut (not to mention their awful human stench) that I really wish I’d listened to what my mother told me when I was young.” The other half of its brain would then reply: “Why, what did she tell you?” The first side of the brain would then say: “I don’t know, I didn’t listen.”
Common sense, like materialism, is another view on reality. It can simply be defined as what people experience in their everyday life is real to them. However, common sense does not stand on its’ own. It is usually incorporated with another theory on reality. For example, a person can believe both in common sense and materialism. This person would think that objects consisting of material structures are real, however it would be difficult for them to accept and think that something is real when that object is not familiar to them. An example within this example: If a person were to witness an event on television (for example, the brutal murder of children in the streets of a foreign nation), it would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to accept it as real, since it is unfamiliar to them.
In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent fits the common sense concept perfectly. Throughout most of the book, Arthur is very panicky and paranoid. This is because he is traveling across the universe, far and wide, a very unfamiliar place; a place that he cannot call home. Everything he does while traveling with his companion(s) is not familiar to his everyday life on Earth. He discovers that the Galaxy not only is mind-boggling, big and bewildering, but also that most of the things that happen in it are staggeringly unfair. Throughout the books, Arthur is put into very odd situations that are nothing like what he does in his everyday life; and because of this, he does not think they are real. The following is an odd situation he is put into:
“A matter of minutes late the waiter arrived with four huge steaming steaks. Zaphod and Ford wolfed straight into them without a second’s hesitation. Trillian paused, then shrugged and started into hers.
Arthur stared at his feeling slightly ill.” (Page 286)
Arthur realizes that he is not acting himself while traveling across the universe. He believes that he is not built for this kind of life and realizes the difference between his old everyday life (on Earth) and his strange traveling across the universe life.
“In his mind the Universe still divided into two parts – the Earth, and everything else.” (Page 348)
There is an easy was to get around both materialism and common sense. If a common senses person falls in love for the first time, how would they know it’s real? Since it’s something they have never experienced, they would be unfamiliar to it. Also, a good way to confuse a materialist is to ask, “is love real?” According to the definition of materialism, love is not real, for it does not consist of a material structure made of matter. This is where idealism comes in.
Idealism is another theory of reality. It states that all that exists does so in he mind. Breaking that down a little bit, idealists say that ideas, concepts (and the mind itself) are real, and physical objects are not. It can be clearly seen that there is a huge contrast between materialism and idealism. Idealism is one of the first four original theories on reality. One of the first philosophers to believe and defend idealism was none other than Plato. However, his version of the theory was a more religious approach to what most people think when they are told of idealism. Plato highly believed that there were two worlds: the visible world that is made up of physical objects, and the ideal world. The ideal world is what he considered to be real, and superior to the physical world. Of coarse, back when Plato was alive, everything and everyone was very religious, and Plato’s belief tied in deeply with religion.
In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the character Marvin (the paranoid android) represents idealism fairly well. It is ironic how a robot is representing the theory on reality built from thoughts and ideas. However, this is because Marvin is a personality prototype, which basically means he has a personality. Sadly enough, he did not get a very good personality, and is very, very depressed. In fact, everything that happens in the book either makes him depressed, or even more depressed than he already is.
“’Sorry, did I say something wrong?’ said Marvin dragging himself on regardless. ‘Pardon me for breathing, which I never do anyway so I don’t know why I bother to say it, oh God I’m so depressed. Here’s another of those self-satisfied doors. Life! Don’t talk to me about life.’
‘No one even mentioned it,’ muttered Arthur” (Page 87)
However, there is one thing in the book that makes Marvin feel “good about it.” (I don’t, however, want to say what it is, because it will ruin a large part of the fourth book: So Long and Thanks For All the Fish). In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy it can easily be said that Marvin drowns in his own sorrow. No matter what is going on around him, he is very depressed and doesn’t care. The only things he would say that are real are his feelings (depression) and his views on life and the universe (how very boring and depressing it is). He would not, however, think that physical objects are real. Marvin’s ideas and thoughts override any physical object, and he knows that no physical being object could ever understand him.
Like Idealism, supernaturalism is one of the oldest theories of reality. However, supernaturalism is the most religious theory. Those who highly believe in supernaturalism believe that there is a great being (which they would say is real) and anything created from this great being is also real. For example, a Christian supernaturalist would say that whatever is written in the Bible is real. It is an old theory and concept, but it still holds its purpose in a religious perspective.
The character who represents supernaturalism in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is Zaphod Beeblebrox. He is the president of the universe. It may be strange that Zaphod is representing supernaturalism, being that he is not religious in anyway. However, Zaphod does believe in something that can sort of be said to be a great being. Late in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Zaphod tells his companions that part of his brain is blocked off from him, and once in a while he receives a thought from that part of the brain. This untouchable part of his brain acts as a great being to him. Also, when he gets a random thought from there, he follows through with the idea. Oddly enough, it’s these ideas that he considers real, no matter what they are. For example, Zaphod received an idea from the blocked part of his brain to become president of the universe. Most people would ignore this and carry on with his day if he randomly got this idea. But Zaphod, being the fraud, (an amazingly together guy) actually follows through with this idea, and does it.
In comparison: a religious supernaturalist would believe in a great being who is real along with what they have created. Zaphod Beeblebrox believes that his blocked part of this brain is real along with the random thoughts and ideas he receives from it.
Another theory of reality is realism. In realism, reality consists of ideal forms; these ideal forms are essence and never change. Realism can easily be incorporated into religion. A religious person who believes in realism can say that God is the essence of human beings: the perfect human image that we are created from. However, someone who is not religious, and believes in realism would say that everything has an ideal form. For example, he would believe that there is an ideal form chair. This chair would be ‘the perfect chair’, and all chairs are made from it (but do no look exactly like it). The character in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy however, is also not religious. Ford Prefect is the character that best represents realism. In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Ford is an author for an electronic book called the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It is very similar to an encyclopedia, but it is designed for hitchhikers, and how to survive in the universe. To Ford, entries in the guide are of the essence to him. For example, if he looked up a type of fish from an alien planet on the Guide, the description of the fish (essence to him) is what reality truly is.
During the first book in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Zaphod receives a random thought that he believes to be an amazing idea. Ford, on the other hand, does not think it is such an amazing idea. Zaphod’s amazing idea (which others do not think is so amazing) is to find a lost planet called Magrathea.
Ford quickly enters it into the Guide and realizes that Magrathae is more of a legend apposed to a lost planet (kind of like Atlantis). He therefore does not believe that it is real. However, even after hearing this, Zaphod still thinks it is very real. Oddly enough, Zaphod also receives thoughts from his blocked out part of his brain on how to find his legend of a planet. Their argument goes in very much the same way as two drunk friends arguing over the keys to a car while trying to kindly explain to one another that they are terribly drunk and are in no condition to drive, if this planet is real or not.
Very similar to Trillian and Arthur’s argument, the planet can be proven real and non-real by both Zaphod and Ford. And because of this, reality disproves itself, and reality cannot exist altogether.
Now imagine if you will, a man who has lived in a shack his entire life. What would he think reality would be? Would he believe that reality is physical objects made of matter, or would he think that it consisted of thought and ideas? Taking a few steps back, would this man think that he is in a physical shack, or would he think that his whole life in the shack has been part of his imagination?
Now, consider what would happen if someone would visit this man and his shack, what would he then think? It could be possible that the man would think that what he sees is not actually happening. Also imagine that it is raining outside.
“ ’Are you wet?’
Zaphod looked at him in astonishment.
‘Wet?’ he cried. ‘Doesn’t it look as if we’re wet?’
‘That’s how it looks to me,’ said the man, ‘but how you feel about it might be an altogether different matter.’ ” (Page 355)
So, the question remains, ‘What is reality?’ Since there are so many theories and concepts that can be believed, each one of them can strongly be justified. Since they contradict one another, reality cannot exist and therefore, there is no such thing as reality.
