Werner Heisenberg (1901–1976) German theoretical physicist
As quoted in Physics from Wholeness : Dynamical Totality as a Conceptual Foundation for Physical Theories (2005) by Barbara Piechocinska.
“It is true that reality exists apart from us; but what we mistake for the world is actually a world constituted by us, selected from an infinitely complex reality.”
Source: Introduction to the New Existentialism (1966), p. 63
Context: A child might be overawed by a great city, but a civil engineer knows that he might demolish it and rebuild it himself. Husserl's philosophy has the same aim: to show us that, although we may have been thrust into this world without a 'by your leave,' we are mistaken to assume that it exists independently of us. It is true that reality exists apart from us; but what we mistake for the world is actually a world constituted by us, selected from an infinitely complex reality.
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Colin Wilson192
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Rudy Rucker (1946) American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author and philosopher
Source: The Sex Sphere (1983), p. 171
M. C. Escher (1898–1972) Dutch graphic artist
1950's, On Being a Graphic Artist', 1953
Context: As far as I know, there is no proof whatever of the existence of an objective reality apart from our senses, and I do not see why we should accept the outside world as such solely by virtue of our senses. These reality enthusiasts are possibly playing at hide-and-seek; at any rate they like to hide themselves, though they are not usually aware of it. They simply do it because they happen to have been born with a sense of reality, that is, with a great interest in so-called reality, and because man likes to forget himself.
Rousas John Rushdoony (1916–2001) American theologian
Audio lectures, Decadence and the New Age (March 10, 1989)
Shunryu Suzuki (1904–1971) Japanese Buddhist missionary
Letters From Emptiness (page 33)
Not Always So, practicing the true spirit of Zen (2002)
C. West Churchman (1913–2004) American philosopher and systems scientist
Source: 1960s - 1970s, The Systems Approach and Its Enemies (1979), p. 53
Diederik Aerts (1953) Belgian theoretical physicist
Source: Perspectives on the World: an interdisciplinary reflection. (1995), p. iv
Isabel Allende book The House of the Spirits
Variant: Just as when we come into the world, when we die we are afraid of the unknown. But the fear is something from within us that has nothing to do with reality. Dying is like being born: just a change.
Source: The House of the Spirits