Our “Facts” Are Purely Subjective

facts A question I received: What is a fact?

My Answer: A fact for me is what I feel (see, hear, smell, taste, and touch) through my five senses. It’s something that I can compare to something else, measure and remember. However, it is only a fact for me; it is an entirely subjective piece of information that is intertwined with me, my brain and my senses.

Another creature would interpret the same “fact” in a different way, and for him, my personal impression of the same thing would not be “a fact.” Usually we can only receive a confirmation of our “facts” from those who are similar to us.

Question cont’d: But my inner state is constantly changing, so what happens to facts that I previously interpreted?

My Answer: We talk about our impressions as if they were facts. When we change, however, we start recognizing new facts. It is possible for old and new facts to contradict each other, since they are all subjective and depend on the observer.

We understand everything through our “material selves” which are the sum of our desires. Our desires are constantly developing and new facts arise within them. Facts can also evolve as we gain a greater understanding of something, similar to how modern relativity and the quantum theory expanded upon Newton’s understanding. Newton’s old facts or laws are still valid, but only under certain conditions such as low gravity, motion well below light speed, and interactions above the atomic level.

We view everything through our desires, and we measure facts at various levels of the “thickness” (Aviut) of our desires. As a result we perceive the same events through a variety of layers (or intensities) of desires. These layers are not conflicting and exist concurrently, causing different interpretations of the same events.

For example, when spirituality becomes revealed to a person, it does not cancel out the material world. On the contrary, it exposes it at a higher level, revealing the causes and effects that govern our material existence.

In summary, a fact remains a fact only as long as you remain on the same level.

Pulling Away The Veil Of Advertising And Imposed Standards

Why Do We See Such a Diverse World Psychologists agree that our behavior is defined by the models and characters we’re exposed to during childhood and later in life through advertisements, movies and other media sources. Our teachers shape our psyche by cultivating stereotypes of conduct and opinion, which we accept as fact. These stereotypes sit deep in our subconscious and define our outlook on life.

I look at the world through these stereotypes; they are the basis of my value system and I use them to evaluate the importance of anything that happens in life.

The whole world is a reflection of our inner value system. We don’t see the real world, but rather we see the world through the prism of automatically generated stereotypes that were instilled in us by society. We are therefore unable to rid ourselves of these stereotypes, and consequently cannot free ourselves from our involuntary outlook on the world.

However, by studying Kabbalah we develop an additional, new sense and activate new behavioral models that are of a “bestowing” nature. When we perceive the world through this sense, we become free of the world’s opinion, and gain personal freedom.