Loja, Jaimie P.

Sept 7, 2012 /Reflection Paper 3

Eng 10-WFX1/ 2012-60429

Prof. LFYA
Paradoxs Problem

Did you know that when a person is about to die, his brain works so fast that it plays back
the persons whole life for about seven minutes?
This trivia makes me wonder, how do I know that my life today is not just a playback
from when I am about to die? What is real and what is not?
Real is a term which originated from the Latin word realis meaning relating to
things.
In laymans terms, real is what I can feel, smell, taste and see. It is simply electrical
signals interpreted by my brain from the five senses. If I take these in account, I can conclude
that very far galaxies and stars are not real since I cant see them.
For many, real is an abstract term on which something authentic exists and occurs.
However, where do I classify things like love if for example I have never felt it? How could I
verify if its occurring and real?
Philosophers would say that real is not something we imagine. It should be something
that can be proven through rational reasoning with proofs. If this is true, how could I explain
things that cant be answered even by science itself?
Real have so many meanings. It changes depending on the person, situation and field of
study being talked about. Personally, Im not sure if I could give the most appropriate definition
for real. It is like the air I breathe or the ideas I think. I know that it is there without needing a
proof to justify my claims. However, what Im sure is that if a person decides to think and
believe something, that will become the real thing for him or her.
Now after pondering about these definitions, I go back to the trivia and ask myself. How
did the scientists conducted that experiment to a dying person? What is real and what is not?