Found this very interesting article at the following URL:
http://www.expandyourmind.com/philosophy/
Read on…
Each of us perceives the world through our own unique senses, or filters. Images, colors, textures, scents, and emotions are all unique to our own interpretation. As a consequence to this uniqueness, however, it is impossible to compare our own perceptions to others, as there is no medium to weigh the relative discernment.
For example, how can you be sure that what one person sees as red is the same hue value that another sees as red. Even if both people are looking at the same red fire engine, the hue may be interpreted differently. A fire engine is only a single color, in reality, even though it may be perceived to vary in color from person to person. When do you know that a dream is a dream? — when you wake up from it, right? But right up until that point, you have no way of knowing that you are in a dream state. It’s the relative reality of “consciousness” that makes one conclude that they have just experienced a dream.How do we know that what we perceive as human beings is an accurate representation of what really exists at all? Since certain animals have more acute hearing, sight, and touch than the human being, our limited perception restricts our ability to decode what is real. This makes it very difficult for us to decipher what is reality and what is not. The only thing we can be sure of is how we define our own reality.Reality, according to the Webster’s Dictionary, is “the state or quality of being real; actual being or existence of anything, in distinction from mere appearance; fact.” Therefore, reality is the actual state of an object or event, irrespective of the perceiver’s subjective interpretations.On the night of June 12th, 1994, a certain reality took place, possibly involving O.J. Simpson. Although various investigators and lawyers gave conflicting “stories,” there is without debate one true reality of how the events unfolded that fateful night. Maybe only a single individual knows exactly what happened, but there is none-the-less only a single reality.This concept is analogous to practically every aspect of life. Anything can be perceived or assumed to have taken place in infinite ways, while all along, there is only one true reality. It seems that the most confusing and debated concept of a single reality, is how the universe and the human came into existence. There are numerous scientific and religious explanations for these questions, yet most of the accounts are direct contradictions to the other explanations.So, how then, do we know what is reality?
Posted by Tathagata 
