Nonprofits & Activism
Why there’s no such thing as objective reality | Greg Anderson
Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. In the grand scheme of history, modern reality is a bizarre exception when compared to the worlds of ancient, precolonial and Indigenous civilizations, where myths ruled and gods roamed, says historian Greg Anderson. So why do Westerners today think…
Nonprofits & Activism
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As climate change leads to more and more natural disasters, a group of workers is showing up at one site after another to rebuild and repair. If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas: Follow TED! X: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: TikTok: The TED…
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Alianger
March 20, 2021 at 11:47 am
The title is basically clickbait, it’s just another anti-western rant which redefines objective reality as something that it’s not as an excuse to go on that rant (collective human perceptions of reality).
Rachel Wyoria Ford
March 20, 2021 at 1:37 pm
Wow. I just, this so perfectly encompasses the conclusions I’ve come to about our existence. So beautifully told through tales from human history by a historian I madly respect. Thank you for this.
TR33H3RD3R
March 20, 2021 at 1:55 pm
There are objectively terrible YouTube videos unfortunately
Mautik Ganvir
March 20, 2021 at 2:45 pm
Wtf did you make me watch TED 😑
MOHIT KUMAR
March 20, 2021 at 3:30 pm
Ielts ke liye kon sun raha hi
Tomasz W
March 20, 2021 at 3:39 pm
Well, it was really fun to listen and finding wrong assumptions or conslusions in almost every sentence, this guy is on fire
Devin Robinson
March 20, 2021 at 4:41 pm
Brilliant! Standing ovation!
Sigrid Jernstedt
March 20, 2021 at 4:44 pm
We have, we are and will always be and exist in our own creation of the universe. But by learning, integrating and interaction we can accept, develop and understand our differences instead of building up a wall between them.
For we are all beautifully unique as we are alike, in the way of thinking, exploring and creating. We are all people of the earth and we all have a meaning which cannot be described or valued. We all play a role, and we all carry our own truth. If we can see the world and each other with open, vivid minds we can also live side by side in peace, love, respect and understanding.
Matej
March 20, 2021 at 5:09 pm
Wow this was utter nonsense
Howdie Rowdie
March 20, 2021 at 5:21 pm
There then comes the question. Is Enlightenment of some indigenes people any different, than the crusades (without the killings). We try to overrule the beliefs of indigenes people by our own “reality”.
Shawn Phua
March 20, 2021 at 5:26 pm
A retelling of the Indian fable about the blind men and the elephant. Clearly, we all perceive and experience reality through cultural context but this does not disprove existence of an ultimate reality. I would go so far as to suggest that every human society past and present is in search for this ultimate truth. Cultural codes are in fact attempts to align society and the individual to this ultimate truth. And so, the question to be ask is which set of beliefs is closer to THE truth, not argue that all experience is merely differentiated but equal.
moghreb allam
March 20, 2021 at 5:39 pm
i just love TED
durriewala
March 20, 2021 at 5:39 pm
The long camera shots make it look like the dude isn’t wearing pants.
Marius Ciobanu
March 20, 2021 at 6:05 pm
He gets home and catches his wife in bed with another man.
Him: Why did you cheat on me?
Wife: I didn’t, that’s your subjective reality. I’m my reality I haven’t cheated on you.
The quality of TED Talks has gone down the toilet.
John Spalding
March 20, 2021 at 7:04 pm
I think of “objective reality” as what science describes and predicts. I think his use of “reality” is instead “culture.”
100101100
March 20, 2021 at 7:28 pm
This is an embarrassing amount of hog wash for TED. I’m very disappointed. So many assertions are made as fact without justification. No, most people, let alone ‘all’, don’t think the way you do and assert.
Tobias Kurjata
March 20, 2021 at 7:30 pm
This seems off to me. It would be more accurate to say “we should not confuse our perception with reality, some get closer, but not in a linearfashion” not “reality does not exist, no one’s perception of the world is more acurate than anothers, the drawbacks of our society are proof of this”. If there is no reality then there is no reason, so you cannot reason your way to a world with no reality.
Oct4viosZ
March 20, 2021 at 8:13 pm
Cool, true, beatifull
81 kilometer
March 20, 2021 at 8:56 pm
An interesting performance but pretty much a clickbait title of the video.
Matt Stiles
March 20, 2021 at 10:51 pm
Souls
Matt Stiles
March 20, 2021 at 11:05 pm
Prana lightning that comes up outta the ground
Dirk Gonthier
March 20, 2021 at 11:47 pm
The premises of this talk are wrong. I don’t believe in the view that only the material things are true (love, anger, sadness, …), I don’t think that human things are the most important (mankind is a part of nature) and I don’t agree with the American view that being human means being an individual (I’d love to watch an individual survive on his own).
Michaicci Micha
March 21, 2021 at 12:39 am
But everyone wants to take part in this argument whether it’s about definition(?) or own perspective.
Phirante Phirante
March 21, 2021 at 1:20 am
Love it.
Njabulo Mabena
March 21, 2021 at 1:27 am
i’m bored so i came to this it made me worse
Cody Snell
March 21, 2021 at 1:31 am
Thanks for this brief summary of everything wrong with 2021.
Blaise Wilson
March 21, 2021 at 2:58 am
Psychedelics helped open my eyes to this
Deepi dilipi dilippa Deepu dileepu dilip dili
March 21, 2021 at 3:17 am
Sir his speech is good
Jacob Brown
March 21, 2021 at 3:29 am
I think some things are subjective, like beauty, but other things would be bonkers if they were subjective. If one person said that the earth went around the sun and another said the sun went around the earth, which is one right? Are they both right?
Shai
March 21, 2021 at 4:13 am
I thought this should be ideas worth spreading or something, no ?
Y. Y. H.
March 21, 2021 at 4:19 am
Not very convincing…
Blitz Warzone
March 21, 2021 at 5:03 am
Thought Vision was giving Ted talks now from the thumbnail… that Ship of Theseus really got him thinking…
Александр
March 21, 2021 at 6:52 am
I prefer to use the term “culture” instead of “reality” in the context of this talk. And this man simply said: there were many different cultures in the history.
Dajana Oroz
March 21, 2021 at 12:40 pm
Quantum physics is saying lot of weird stuff.. look for “Zeno effect” term in quantum mechanics, it is all about concesnes of observer so called “Observer’s effect” – sub atomic particals stop moving if you watch them, why.. nobody knows.. It is like they create an illusion of reality when you are watching.
H0lyMoley
March 21, 2021 at 1:58 pm
A lot of problems with this one. Debates in YouTube comments ain’t good, but oh well, here we go. Firstly:
1) While the way we perceive reality may be subjective, at some level we have to accept it, or we lose our ability to affect it. If you lose your trust in the existence of floors, how do you walk anywhere?
2) One of the reasons for this change in reality is improved scientific knowledge. I’m alive today (and several of my great grandmother’s siblings are not) because of scientific advancements in the last century that pinpoint the specific cause of a disease I had as specific, treatable, micro-organisms. What would people have made of this disease in times when Gods were credited for everything from weather changes to natural disasters?
3) When people don’t understand their reality, it’s human nature to create stories or mythologies to try and make sense of the world. On a small scale this isn’t harmful – it may even be beneficial – although we’ve seen what can happen when this tendency turns malign. Lots and lots of people perceiving others as “different” and therefore inferior, inhuman, or simply not worthy to keep on living, for one thing. Sadly this also seems to be a part of human nature. I hope I’m wrong about this because I’d rather not see a Holocaust or NKVD prisoner mass-killing in my lifetime, thanks. (Edit: not that there hasn’t been enough ideological, political, religious and simply financially-motivated warring and killing anyway unfortunately.)
Reece F
March 21, 2021 at 2:46 pm
It is a dangerous idea that the truth of a perspective should be determined by its success. Who gets to define success? Who then, gets to decide truth? I’m not sure if OP recognises that his arguments could backfire against him.
It may be true that none of us will ever experience a moment of objective reality because it is all filtered through the lens of our narrow consciousness. Nevertheless, when we see something incredible our first reaction is to ask those around us if they saw it too. Objective truth is a process of triangulation. None of us have a trustworthy or objective lens and so we must work together to iron out each other’s weaknesses. Its why we have the peer review process in science. It’s why you don’t have “your truth”. You only have your perspective.
Brea Regans
March 21, 2021 at 3:07 pm
Jesus loves you; he died on the cross for you. Salvation is a free gift by grace through faith in Jesus alone. The gospel is not about works or your own efforts. There are no strings attached. Your sins are covered through the blood of Jesus, Once you believe.
D an Newman
March 21, 2021 at 5:48 pm
unless your a Christian 😀
D an Newman
March 21, 2021 at 5:48 pm
if everything is subjective then everything is objectively subjective
Dedu Tedy
March 21, 2021 at 8:34 pm
We overcomplicated life, for the sake of “progress”, yet masses are dumber than before.
riju bhatt
March 21, 2021 at 8:40 pm
Their real world’s were different; they were not wrong.
Amour Learning
March 21, 2021 at 9:59 pm
CHANGE THE TITLE
Translation: “Objective reality can’t exist because objective reality is different at different times” – Why can’t objective reality exist as a dynamic object? Mathematics can capture dynamic objects objectively. There is an objective reality, but that objective reality is changing. That should be the title.
Micchael Sanders
March 21, 2021 at 11:02 pm
What a ridiculous video. So our 5 senses are perpetually coordinating together in order to deceive our consciousness? The way this actually works is our consciousness doesn’t create illusions of reality, it identify’s and integrates the material provided by our senses. For further details PLEASE read Ayn Rand’s book “Philosophy Who Needs it?”
Deal Withit
March 21, 2021 at 11:17 pm
Do not be deceived! Space and time were created. The atheist, Stephen Hawking and others have proved it . Check out the space-time theorem‘s. That alone points to causality, a Causal Agent.
Baby Dong
March 21, 2021 at 11:25 pm
The whole speech does not sound objective but very subjective with presumptions and personal opinions
Mark Goodkin
March 21, 2021 at 11:52 pm
If my understanding is correct, Dr Anderson is replacing the notion that there is one objective reality with the idea of pluralistic worlds. And I take worlds to mean world views. I don’t think he appeals strictly to cultural relativism, since he seems to appeal to pre-modern world views as being superior, at least in some important regards, to the modern Enlightenment one.
Gluten Free Gam3r
March 22, 2021 at 12:35 am
This Ted guy must be a spy…he never looks the same in any of his videos.
Red Sparks
March 22, 2021 at 12:50 am
What I believe he is calling for is “synergy” between our mind’s internal subjective reality and the external universe’s objective reality. Unfortunately some minds may break in the process.
“And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.” ~ Morpheus, The Matrix.
Red Sparks
March 22, 2021 at 12:50 am
What I believe he is calling for is “synergy” between our mind’s internal subjective reality and the external universe’s objective reality. Unfortunately some minds may break in the process. “And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.” ~ Morpheus, The Matrix.
SoulessMC
March 22, 2021 at 2:38 am
There’s no such thing as objective reality because the Athenians wrote about nymphs.
Inazuma65
March 22, 2021 at 2:56 am
He is right that our modern society is a catastrophic failure because of slavery, capitalism, climate change, religion, etc., but he is wrong about gods being real just because people used to believe in them. I don’t think he knows the difference between facts, opinions, and beliefs. This TED talk was a waste of time.
Logan Clements
March 22, 2021 at 4:18 am
He may just look like a fool but he’s actually very dangerous. He is evil. Because if people reject objective reality they can force their will on others. Objective reality is the judge.
Rando Guy
March 22, 2021 at 4:27 am
This comment section is seemingly based in objective reality. Thanks for not letting me down, dudes.
Sanjay
March 22, 2021 at 6:09 am
Their reality: Gods, Demons, Spirits and Motherland
Our reality: 100 religions (to fight), Capitalism (to make you feel empty) , Big climate crises (for someone else to take care), Tech Addiction (to comfort us in denial of all the above)
Robert .Smith
March 22, 2021 at 7:39 am
Thank you for sharing your awareness. I occasionally daydream of a life on Earth as a community contributor in ways of life that brings us closer to nature. We continue to rely on science and technology for efficiency and environmental concerns, but without the exchange of money to get the things we need.
Don Emigholz Jr.
March 22, 2021 at 9:11 am
TED would be great and not a waste of time if the world did not have major and pressing problems that may erase mankind or at least as we now know it. Fukushima disaster is not getting better for one and under just a few plausible probabilities could become a planet killing disaster.
Then of course there is the relentless and never ending quest for tax free profit using USA’s military might and USA trained Mercenaries/PMC.
TED Talk is a distraction not any kind of solution.
Jimbo Jones
March 22, 2021 at 10:27 am
horrific torture methods, human sacrifice, low life expectancy, slaughter and rape, no right to life and property. That was the reality of indigenous tribes. “We have to get over ourselves” and go back to that reality? No thanks! I rather listen to Vivaldi and open a second browser tab to watch a HD live stream from MARS!
Jaron Pawlowski
March 22, 2021 at 2:53 pm
This talk will be used in philosophy courses to demonstrate how not to form an argument. Nothing but naked assertions, lacking the clothing of evidence. This talk is just basically “I have presuppositions now believe them”
Silver Daddy
March 22, 2021 at 4:14 pm
He keeps using that word ‘objective’. I do not think it means what he think it means.
Sneha Sivakumar
March 22, 2021 at 7:06 pm
I absolutely love the video.
It almost makes me want to break from my existing perceived reality.
This video is in line with the concept of collective consciousness, we believe what we believe because we accept those beliefs; Also transfer it to every generation that comes after. Society is intricately designed, currently while we all think of ourselves as individuals, we also collectively agree to many such established norms. It’s a game of consensus, majority seems to win.
John Paquette
March 22, 2021 at 8:20 pm
In Greg Anderson’s reality, there’s no objective reality. In his opinion, my idea that reality exists objectively is false. But then I say it’s only false *in his “reality”*. For his view to have any strength to it, he must implicitly be speaking of big-R “Reality”. So, he’s saying “In objective Reality, there’s no objective reality.” What a mess of equivocations and deliberate confusion between the idea of a “world view” and the idea of “reality”!
A more honest approach would be to compare and contrast *world views*, without attempting such a vain and arrogant assault on the idea of objective reality.
Another big error Mr. Anderson makes is to equate objective reality with *the material*. This is simply false. Ideas and emotions and theories and conventions and cultures are also part of objective reality. And, of course, many, many belief systems have existed in history, some better than others in various respects, *all a part of objective reality*, and consequently worthy of study.
Andru Aesthetik
March 22, 2021 at 9:10 pm
Fallacy of Self-Exclusion.
bill wesley
March 22, 2021 at 9:46 pm
I would argue that we still are dominated by many Gods, but we have added the self delusion that we claim only one God, unlike the more truthful Greeks who were not deluded in that way.
In some forms of Christianity there are 4 major Gods, The Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost plus Satan, then as lesser Gods there are all the angels and all the saints and prophets which take the place of the Greek “Lesser Gods”.
There are always at least 2 Gods in the major “monotheistic” religions, a God of good and another God of evil whom we call an “angel” of evil so as to dishonestly avoid the word “God” which the more honest Greeks would assuredly have applied.
Most persons today are not scientists and believe in deities, spirits and the after life, aliens, supernatural conspiracy theories, big foot, all of it! So there is little difference between the average Greek and most citizens of modern times.
Socrates was executed for “denying the Gods and corrupting the youth”, well so was Bruno, nothing has changed except today we simply deny heretics jobs rather than torturing them with hideous poisons or burning them alive at the stake, that way they do not live on in martyrdom so are truly disappeared then.
The moderated repression is far more effective as repression than the extreme means of the past which tended to fail.
(Jesus is the best example of a failure to repress by brutal means!)
The family is said to be the basis of society today, but the strongest family ties are those of WEALTHIER families. We still have the same family orientation today among the wealthy, (the “Costa Nostra” means “the family”, right?) Technology has enriched a tiny cabal beyond all reason so we have far fewer proportionally wealthy families today as the middle class disappears world wide.
The vast majority is well fed by technological means but never the less reduced to vassal status by the elite wealthiest families.
Poorer families are broken up, but not by the choice of family members but by externally imposed conditions, if your not independently wealthy to get a job your forced to abandon your family, everyone is scattered to what ever job can be found, this is a near state of slavery when it has always been the case that the families of slaves are FORFEIT, no one today would freely chose this, Wall Street and academia has imposed this by force.
I would suggest that the we were much like the ancient Greeks right up to about 1929, then a technologically empowered cabal took society over with giant corporate landowners evicting all small farmers and other small business owners, we live under the tyranny of TECHNOLOGY now and have done so since about the turn of the century.
The ancient Greeks lived in a more HUMAN world, we live in greater conflict, technology threatens all life on earth in every aspect not just with nuclear weapons.
The Greeks never faced such all encompassing technical threat
Ibrahim Janabi
March 23, 2021 at 1:26 am
The problems we have right now are not because we exist in a way to cause them. The problems we have exist because we can’t regulate our industries and environment well enough to remove these problems.
Also, because we can explain so many things that people before never understood or imagined, we can better judge our reality. That’s not selfishness.
Reason
March 23, 2021 at 6:41 am
At first I was wondering why I was having such a hard time figuring out how his argument worked. Then I realized he was just saying nonsense.
Sword of Apollo
March 27, 2021 at 9:17 pm
With a name like Reason, I’m wondering: Do you have any interest in Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism?
Reason
March 29, 2021 at 4:45 am
@Sword of Apollo I haven’t heard of Ayn Rand before. My personal view of the universe includes objective morality.
Ernie Duran
March 23, 2021 at 12:49 pm
I’m not a philosopher but I’m going to wax philosophical for the next fifteen minutes.
Royal Cake
March 23, 2021 at 4:15 pm
Because you didn’t knew duality.
Royal Cake
March 23, 2021 at 4:18 pm
Duality of man. Don’t search for it. Its a trap. Find within.
Royal Cake
March 23, 2021 at 4:20 pm
Be creative.
Davey JDM yO!
March 24, 2021 at 1:37 pm
For ancient Egyptian to have built the pyramids using only hand tools, is still to this day unexplained……
SoulReach Deeper Dimensions
March 24, 2021 at 2:49 pm
You cannot separate the witness, the viewer, and their consciousness as the perceiver from the way the dimension of reality exists.
Whale Blue
March 24, 2021 at 3:25 pm
Our belief is a way of survival. It gets changed all the time depending on the situation. We live as individual because the protection from private group is not needed any more. But if Zombie apocalypse, we will certainly return to group mentality for survival. So we cannot say ancient way of life was wrong. It was the best for the given situation.
John Rovan Cabucos
March 25, 2021 at 1:57 am
I don’t wanna bring politics here but the us-china alaska meeting is perfect for this when the chinese diplomat said, us has its own us style of democracy and china has its own china style of democracy
Dr John Pollard
March 25, 2021 at 7:00 am
This guy is saying nothing using words. That’s objective reality.
Jayashree J
March 26, 2021 at 9:55 am
I have always doubted the existence of god . Never prayed seriously in my life . After listening to your talk , my perception is changing 😇
BangDroid
March 27, 2021 at 12:20 am
Forget the notion of a god and prayer, but try simply communicating with the universe from a place of unrestricted honesty
Jayashree J
March 26, 2021 at 12:15 pm
Why should we not believe the objective reality .
Sword of Apollo
March 27, 2021 at 9:13 pm
We should understand that this talk is full of bad philosophy and that, to be meaningful, every statement we make must presuppose a single reality and objective facts. Have you read anything by Ayn Rand?
Sword of Apollo
March 27, 2021 at 9:06 pm
It’s almost like when he’s talking about how “our model of reality has failed,” he’s talking about OBJECTIVE facts, not merely “our reality”… If it’s just OUR reality we’re dealing with, then it can’t fail, since what we believe will produce success will produce success for us. Every claim he makes depends on him referring to objective facts for anyone to take it as a meaningful statement. This is the self-refuting nature of any “theory” that rejects a single reality and objective facts. Those who are actually serious about genuine, rational philosophy need to learn from Ayn Rand how to avoid self-refutation.
BRANKO TRAJKOVSKI
March 29, 2021 at 3:04 am
Greek reality or philosophy has not produced one grain of wheat so far, it just provides excuses for modern professors of philosophy to justify their salaries.
dncbot
March 29, 2021 at 10:20 pm
Confusing experience of the world with actual reality. Also very limited understanding of the complexity of objective reality, especially emergence.