Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Reply to comment

Anna G.'s picture

Like Angel, I was concerned

Like Angel, I was concerned about this when in class we began stating that no one reality was more valid than others. To me, it seems like we can state that one view of better than another. Of course "better" refers to a subjective choice, but in certain cases a "better" reality does in fact exist.

 

In the show Heroes, there is one character who has a violent side that kills in order to protect her son, but she hides this side from her "normal" side. Her "normal" reality thinks that her husband killed the people that she really killed, and she is able to live a normal, productive life, despising the act she believes her husband committed. When she begins to realize it was actually herself, she becomes crazy, and ends up acting so insane that she turns herself into a mental asylum. In this case, I think we can say that her "normal" reality is better. She acts as a productive member of society. Her "insane" reality kills people, which ends up hurting her husband, as well as the people she killed. Not good. When her two realities begin to meld, she becomes unbalanced, and can't function.

 

While I don't think it's necessary to judge every thought and action to determine whose reality is "best," I do think that there are extreme cases, in which we can clearly say that the reality is unstable. But the interesting cases aren't in the extremes, it’s more interesting to see how small differences make up different small individual realities, in which case, yes it is difficult to say which is more valid.

 

Reply

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
12 + 3 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.