QuoteProject
I did used to have nightmares about the idea that when I die, there is a spark of consciousness which basically creates the world. 'Is the world going to disappear if this spark of consciousness disappears? And how do I know it won't? How do I know there's anything there except what I'm conscious of?'
Noam Chomsky
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote explores the relationship between consciousness and reality, questioning whether the world exists independently of our perception.

In this quote, Noam Chomsky reflects on the unsettling idea that our consciousness might be the very fabric of reality. By contemplating the possibility that the world could vanish when we die, he questions the nature of existence and whether anything exists beyond our perception. This introspection reveals deep philosophical concerns about the existence of an objective reality if it is solely defined by individual consciousness.

Themes

ConsciousnessRealityPhilosophyPerceptionExistence

In practice

Example use cases

In a philosophy class, discussing the nature of reality.

More from Noam Chomsky

There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
Noam ChomskyRead
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
Noam ChomskyRead
There are very few people who are going to look into the mirror and say, 'That person I see is a savage monster;' instead, they make up some construction that justifies what they do.
Noam ChomskyRead
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
Noam ChomskyRead
There is still much debate about whether torture has been effective in eliciting information - the assumption being, apparently, that if it is effective, then it may be justified.
Noam ChomskyRead

Similar quotes

I have a fork and a spoon, but never a knife… as if I’m lacking manual skills or teeth. I have both, however. That’s why I’m not allowed a knife.
Margaret AtwoodRead
Time weighs down on you like an old, ambiguous dream. You keep on moving, trying to sleep through it. But even if you go to the ends of the earth, you won't be able to escape it. Still, you have to go there- to the edge of the world. There's something you can't do unless you get there.
Haruki MurakamiRead
Conventions vs. spontaneity. This is a dialectical choice, it depends on the assessment you make of your own times. If you judge that your own time is ridden with empty insincere formalities, you plump for spontaneity, for indecorous behavior even...Much of morality is the task of compensating for one's age. One assumes unfashionable virtues, in an indecorous time. In a time hollowed out by decorum, one must school oneself in spontaneity.
Susan SontagRead
The belief in authority is the source of conscience; which is therefore not the voice of God in the heart of man, but the voice of some men in man.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Ask yourselves this question: How often is Jesus inside and knocking at the door to be let out, to come out?
Pope FrancisRead
The little man is still a man.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.