Online research in philosophy

John,
I haven't seen the paper you refer to by Mr. MacLeod but was interested in your explanation of solipsism "for those who don't know". I'm just wondering who "those" would actually be, without  defeating "the ideal of a Solipsistic Philosophy"? 

Forgive me, I merely meant anyone who was unfamiliar with the term and I got the straight to the dictionary definition. Mr. MacLeod's paper seemed to challenge Solipsism and I wanted to give the definition so A.) I made my question crystal clear, B.) Anyone else who saw it could engage in a conversation with me about either the paper or Solipsism, and C.) So that I used the term properly and didn't put my foot in my mouth for I am still a newcomer to Philosophy and have no academic background. Everyone here seems quite capable in the field of Philosophy, but I hate feeling like I left anyone in the dark. Philosophy I believe, is something that should be accessible to everyone and not a field dominated by solely Academia. I hope this helps Mr. Davis and I thank you for the feedback. If I did not hit the aim of your message, please do tell me. I want to make the biggest impact on this site possible. Take care.

I just meant, if Solipsism is true, there are no "others" with whom to discourse.

Ahhh, now I understand you Mr. Davis. For in Solipsism, my reality is the only true reality and anyone else is merely a fixture of my reality. I just find the whole idea absurd to be honest with you. However with that said, Solipsism is quite difficult to disprove if for no other reason because of its absurdity. Sure we know there are many other conscious beings around us, but we do not know the nature of that consciousness only our own. For all we know, our consciousness could be the creator of these beings so as to not hide itself in isolation. I thank you very much for the back and forth Mr. Davis. Have you published anything on here? I would love to see any potential writings.

If solipsism was demonstrably absurd then it would be falsifiable. It is not absurd, but just difficult to weave into a theory. It can de done however.  It is not the idea that the 'self' is all of which we can be sure, but the idea that our experiences are all of which can be sure. Important, since otherwise the unfasifiability of solipsism would entail the unfalsifiability of the existence of a 'self''.

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