Settled (rev 1)

[threewood14]

Okay. I've broken up my poll/thread to see where people are. Some people agree with the first statement, but disagree with the 2nd. Some disagree entirely. My main focus was the 1st sentence. So I've broken it up. Into 2 parts.

[Emma_85]

This is a difficult question, now you are just talking about out physical reality... but these two polls do belong together somehow. I don't think we know everything about what goes on in the brain and we may never know, but I do think that the brain and our consciousness is part of the physical world not the metaphysical, so it is possible, even though improbably that sometime we may know everything that goes on.
If we count our own thoughts and perceptions to the physical world, then I think we can be absolutely certain on some things, because I think I can say with for sure that something at least exists - these thoughts and perceptions I have now.
I think that we can be sure of what goes on in 'our world', we are equipped to see colours but ill-equipped to know about wavelengths.

[threewood14]

If we count our own thoughts and perceptions to the physical world, then I think we can be absolutely certain on some things, because I think I can say with for sure that something at least exists - these thoughts and perceptions I have now.

Yes exactly. But for this, our thoughts and perceptions are not part of the physical world.

[Emma_85]

But for this, our thoughts and perceptions are not part of the physical world.

For this poll of yours? It's hardly possible to just assume that our thoughts and feeling aren't part of the world, because basically that's what the poll is questioning. Because if they are not part of the physical world, but some other metaphysical one, then how on earth could anyone ever claim to understand how the human mind works?
Either they are part of physical reality and so could 'theoretically' be an object of human examination, or they aren't and the workings of the brain can't ever be understood, because it doesn't follow any known principles, only some metaphysical ones.

[Surion]

For me, as a person studying sciences, there is no absolute certainty. It's all the matter of probability and assumptions that we make to move in so called 'reality' with some confidence. When I see a rock I can say that what I see seems to me a rock and I assume I see a rock so I can say: this is a rock. I can say this thanks to this sequence of assumptions. But is it true? Is it reality? Maybe I'm connected to some super-computer and whole reality which I think reality isn't what it seems to be? This matrix-like idea similar to Parmenides' ideas isn't absurd. We cannot state anything that doesn't come as an obvious conclusion (taking into account our knowledge). I hope that I said it clearly enough

[threewood14]

I meant that our thoughts and interpretations are not part of the physical world. They are of course in existance. I would consider our thoughts and interpretations the mental world. That is basically my 2nd poll. Can we understand our thoughts/interpretations with absolute certainty. Anyways, I'm not going to consider our interpretation of the universe as being part of physical reality. Because, how could it be physical?

And yes that was very clear. Bravo.

[primitive]

Hmmm. Not much action here.