Magaa 1

Jesse Magaa
Prof. Kane
English 115 mw
24 August 2016
Essay 2.2: Faith Perception
Perception of reality is unique to each individual and we cant exactly be sure what we
think is reality is correct. So how do we possibly create a composite reality in which we as a
society can all believe is real? The answer is fairly simple, through faith in one anothers
perception and compromise we can create a reality that we can all believe in, faith like how
religious people have faith in God and his plan. Much like how Catholics believe God is all
knowing and has a plan for each of his children. Even through incredible hardships (some that
seem to have no upside in the near future) they believe that God has their best intentions in mind
and that this pain and hardship can be a lesson to help them grow and become stronger as
individuals and people of God. Using this type of faith we can reach a reality in which we can
live in peacefully and interact with one another productively.
To begin there is one thing we can be certain is real. Our mind and our thoughts are real
without question. Descartes says I find here that thought is an attribute that belongs to me; it
alone cannot be separated from me. I am, I exist- - that is certain; but for how long? As long as I
think. For it may happen that, if I stopped thinking altogether, I would at the same time
altogether cease being. I am now admitting nothing that would not be necessarily true. Thus I
am, speaking precisely, only a thinking thing; that is to say, a mind, an understanding, or a
reason, which are terms whose meaning was previously unknown to me. In other words: I am a
real thing and really existent; but what thing? I have already said it: a thing that thinks. So

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according to Descartes we as individuals are real simply because our thoughts are real. Which
helps create a composite reality as a society because we are all real and have individual thoughts.
Thoughts that can contribute to our reality in order to strengthen the reality we create. Likewise
for individuals who died or brain dead their reality ceases to exist with their loss of their
consciousness making them almost as if they dont exist anymore.
Upon realizing that our thought are real now we must prove that they are a good
representation of what we see to create a reliable reality. Donald Hoffman in his edition of Ted
Talk, spoke and focused heavily on perception, reality, and human senses regarding these. In this
Ted Talk he basically said that we cannot believe in our senses as they may be wrong. That what
we see, hear, feel, smell, or taste may not really be there in front of us. However, according to
Descartes theory since our mind, thoughts, and selves are real then our minds have to at least be
partially correct when perceiving the world through our sense due to them being in agreement of
a sort. Since our ideas are reliable then our ideas that come with our senses must be somewhat
correct. Through our senses our brains have to be able to pieces together at least a basic reality
that contains some truth to it. That is where the faith and compromise comes into play.
Together using faith and compromise we can come to a composite reality. As stated
before our mind should be able to partially perceive reality through our senses. So if each person
can perceive a small part all we have to do is rely on each others thoughts and perspectives to
create a complete reality. However, only under two conditions can this work efficiently one being
through faith in each other and our perspectives so we create a complete composite reality that is
real and reliable. The second being open-mindedness in hearing out everyones perceptions of
reality. If there isnt then there would be a possible chance to expand on complete reality. There
is also a chance that ignoring ones perception could taint the validity of the current composite

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reality. Even if they may contradict our own we must hear their input for it may add or correct
our reality. Unfortunately, there are the consequences of being closed minded that would cause a
huge problem to our reality and its ability to be reliable (or even exist for that matter).
We must be willing to hear peoples new views and adapt our reality according to the new
view if it turns out to be a valid view of life even if they may contradict what was previously
thought. Clarification and question easily clears up misunderstanding that may occur from this
step. There are several real life examples of closed mindedness that could severely damage or
even prevent a reality from being able to created, two of which are political parties in
Bangladesh and the other being the 2nd Amendment argument here in the United States (also by
political parties) . Today, all major political parties have their own-armed cadres whose main
responsibility is to strengthen their political base and to counter the cadres of rival political
parties. In the process, politics has become more reliant on muscle power, and a new breed of
politicians with money and armed support is increasingly replacing old-fashioned politicians
(Moniruzzaman 4). In Bangladesh closed mindedness has gotten to the point where violence has
taken over and compromise is nowhere in question. A less violent example is the argument over
the 2nd amendment, in Guns and the Constitution: The Myth of The Second Amendment
Protection of Firearms in America by Jacob Sullum, he quotes Dennis A. Henigan, The Myth
of Second Amendment Protection for Firearms in America, goes like this: If the Second
Amendment guarantees every individual a right to arms as a safeguard against tyranny, it must
also guarantee every individual the right to use those arms against the government. But the
Constitution gives Congress the power to "suppress insurrections" (with the help of the very
militia mentioned in the Second Amendment). Who is to distinguish between legitimate
resistance against tyranny and illegitimate insurrection? We can hardly leave the decision to the

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courts, since they are part of the government. But letting individuals decide for themselves is a
recipe for anarchy. This one quote alone would spark a huge argument in which both sides
opinions and ideologies are so strong and intense that they cannot possibly keep an open mind on
the issue, in a more extreme case would be the political parties in Bangladesh. In the United
States (although it may not be as bad as Bangladesh) Republicans and Democrats to continuously
argue on topics like this with very little compromise reached. It is crucial to keep an open mind
regarding perception or else things may even get as bad as they are in Bangladesh. All of this
simply because opinions are so strong that they are not able (or sometimes willing) to comprise
even if compromise means it could improve life for society as a whole. In the Allegory of the
Cave by Plato there is a perfect example of what could happen if we dont come together and
have an open mind to everyones perspectives and ideas. In the text of the Allegory of the
Cave the prisoners completely rejected the escaped prisoners new views and even threaten to
kill him due to his different view of reality. The lived their whole lives believing what they saw
was real that they didnt even want to hear anything that differed from what they saw. Despite
the fact the escaped prisoner was correct all along, we must have an open mind for this reason in
particular
The best way to come up with a composite reality where we can all interact productively
would be to communicate with one another to piece together a whole reality. Being able to have
faith in one another and compromise/open mindedness this is completely possible. The key to
this is not ignoring ideas/views and never becoming hostile to those whose ideas/views
contradict our own for they might be accurate. In following these steps and heeding the warning
we would create a reality in which we can be assured is real and reliable. A reality that is
composite and one in which we can interact productively, peacefully, and revolutionary.

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Work Cited

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Bramann, Jorn K. Descartes: The Solitary Self. The Educating Rita Workbook. Faculty
Frostburg, 2004 faculty.frostyburg.edu/phil/forum/Descartes.htm.
Hoffman, Dustin. Do we really see reality as it is. Ted, uploaded by Ted2015, March
2015, www.ted.com/talks/donald_hoffman_do_we_see_reality_as_it_is?language=en
Moniruzzaman, M. Party politics and political violence in Bangladesh: issues,
manifestation and consequences. South Asian Survey, vol. 16, no. 1, March 2009, pp. 81-99.
Ebscohost, url: http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=92ed7c89-1439-4dd3-a8ddd6b30c3fd025%40sessionmgr103&vid=0&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d
%3d#db=ijh&AN=60.847.
Plato. Allegory of the Cave The Republic. Faculty Knox, n.trans. nd.,
faculty.knox.edu/fmcandre/allegory_cave.pdf.
Sullum, Jacob. "Guns and the Constitution: The Myth of Second Amendment Protection
of Firearms in America." Reason, Dec. 1995, p. 50+. General OneFile, libproxy.csun.edu/login?
url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=csunorthridge&v=2.1&id=GALE
%7CA17782278&it=r&asid=5dc0c2aa48dc6214a50df085295a0bbd.