Page 118 - Darwin's Dilemma: The Soul

Darwin’s Dilemma: The Soul

What Is “Real” for Us?
W h a t I s “ R e a l ” f o r U s ?
We believe in the existence of objects just because we see and touch
them, and they are reflected to us by our perceptions. However, our
perceptions are only ideas in our mind. Thus, objects we captivate by
perceptions are nothing but ideas, and these ideas are essentially in
nowhere but our mind… Since all these exist only in the mind, then
it means that we are beguiled by deceptions when we imagine the
universe and things to have an existence outside the mind. 65
—George Berkeley
Our seeing any object, hearing the sound it makes or touching
it, provides little information about the nature of the material
world existing outside. For us, what gives us evidence of any-
thing’s physical existence is our perception of it. Yet there is actu-
ally no sound, nor image, nor flavor, nor smell in our perceptual
center in the brain where all these things arise. The inside of the
brain is pitch dark and utterly soundless. There are no small ob-
servers in the brain to detect smells or observe images. Therefore,
the idea that sounds and images can form inside the brain is illog-
ical, scientifically impossible. However, we perceive an amazingly
flawless, colored, mobile and distinct world in that pitch-black,
soundless space. Despite being a world of perception forming sole-
ly in the brain, this world is realistic and highly convincing. An im-
age far clearer and more distinct than the most advanced three-di-
mensional film screens or televisions, of a far higher quality than
the world’s most perfect cameras, arises in the brain. Inside the
brain form sounds that are much more perfect, much
clearer and richer than the most advanced music
systems, and which cannot be distinguished
from the real thing. The perfume and scent of a
rose also forms inside the brain, as do sensations of heat and
cold, in the most precise manner. This perfectly clear

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