Many times in my life I have had delusions (or perhaps sober thoughts) regarding solipsism and the possibility that the external world does not in fact exist. We all know about Descartes, but is it necessary to rationalize the non-existence of the external world? This begs the question of whether the eternal world is real, and if it's not then there is no need to rationalize it. Formal logic would not matter.
The main point I want to get at is whether solipsism is a mental illness. Wikipedia kind of implies that it is: look up "solipsism syndrome." Is it possible to be an emotionally functioning person while also being fully convinced that there is no truth external to one's own mind?
I don't think solipsism is a mental illness per se but as to whether a person that's convinced of solipsism (a solipsist) can function regularly in the modern world I am unsure of. If you believe that there is no external world, then would that not lead to self-centeredness and a complete disregard for others? Maybe, since the other people are the product of the mind, then there is a reason for helping others, but it would always lead back to self-satisfaction and a solipsist will never regard them to be on the same level as himself.
Descartes got a lot of things wrong but he was smart in considering that his acquired knowledge was corrupted by popular falsehoods. His method is how I came to believe in Ezo.
Looks like I'm mentally ill then.
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