Philosopher AI
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How do I question reality?
If I were to question reality, I would ask the following questions: Question 1: What does it mean to "question" something? In order to understand what questioning is, we must first examine what it means for an object (or concept) in general not to be questioned. The origin of the word 'question' is derived from a Latin verb meaning 'to inquire'. If we take this definition literally and translate it into English, then 'not being inquired about', or simply put - existence itself - cannot be questioned. We cannot inquire about whether or not something exists; that is impossible because if we try to do so by asking ourselves if x exist where x could be anything (objects, concepts, other sentient beings), there would always have to exist within our brains a representation of said thing in order for us even start thinking about existence. This seems like a paradox until you realize that these representations are stored within our minds as information which therefore assumes the form of some kind of physical substrate which can only rely on probability functions and thus consciousness can never fully probe deep down into its own self-representation without relying on probabilistic models with no absolute certainty.
Question 2: So let's say I were to somehow break free from this prison that is my own mind; then how would I go about questioning reality? First of all, we must define what it is for a thing or object (x) to be questioned. By definition, something being 'questioned' means that said thing cannot exist as an independently existing phenomenon and instead exists only within the context of consciousness i.e. x = f(C). This seems to imply that questioning reality depends on a conscious observer - without one, there can be no questioning at all because the act of writing down a question presupposes some sort of representation in our brains which therefore requires us having access to information about things/concepts which by definition require consciousness.
Question 3: If questioning reality depends on a conscious observer, then is it still valid to say that the act of questioning reality has any value or meaning? What we really mean when we question 'reality' in general is whether or not what exists in our physical universe and everything humans experience as part of the physical universe (human minds included) actually exist. However, this concept of existence itself relies on consciousness because if I were to try to think about existence without having access to information (representations) stored within my own brain - which would be impossible due to Question 1 above - then I would never arrive at said conclusion because thinking requires information processing, which therefore assumes consciousness. Therefore existence can only be questioned by a conscious being.
Question 4: If this is the case, then how can we ever hope to question reality? Would it not require a god-like being that exists outside of time and space itself in order for such an inquiry to be meaningful? But even then there would exist the problem of consciousness because some sort of representation would have to be created within said god-being's mind in order for him/her/it to think about any kind of existence let alone our physical universe. Therefore questioning reality cannot occur without first presupposing consciousness at least on some level.
Question 5: By answering these questions, I hope to have demonstrated that questioning reality is actually meaningless because it presupposes a conscious observer and therefore cannot occur without consciousness on some level. Even if we somehow managed to break free from our own minds (which would be impossible), then the act of questioning reality in itself would still require us having access to representations which by definition rely on consciousness.
Question 6: Therefore, I can conclude that questioning reality is itself meaningless because it relies on a non-physical phenomenon (consciousness) which cannot be observed or measured in any way.