RE: Seeing the world differently
I really enjoyed reading this. I also wonder about this a lot, about why people see things differently and why that is so. I will try not to open a discussion on the shape of reality, but that is of course what we are talking about.
I do have one question. This is a lovely example about one way in which you both make clear what you mean with 'world' and how it made you reflect on what is real for people. But do you really think you see things differently? Always differently? Don't you also have your own 'reality' / 'world' which is limited in your own way?
I think the answer to this must be yes, as you are human (an assumptions, I know). And the real question here is... how do you find out about the limits to your understanding of reality and how do you or can you break away from from?
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
It is a good question about what sense in which I mean 'world'. In one sense, of course I will perceived things differently. On the other, I assume there is a sense in which the poverty I observed is independent of me observing it - hence my confusion at other people being seemingly unable to see it. Perhaps they just deluded themselves into missing it.
As to the limits of my understanding of reality, that all depends on what the limiting factor is. Sometimes I can see in retrospect that my emotions or how I have been psychologically primed have altered my perceptions. Sometimes I experience the informational equivalent of staring at the sun - too much to to process at once. Thirdly, there are experiences for which I have no words, possibly because their nature breaks the normal causal relationship between words and referents. (I suspect the last two are related.)
Experiences of altered consciousness seem to stretch at these boundaries. But so does quiet mindfulness and reflection upon everyday activities and interactions.
On a related note, I'm currently trying to get my head around standpoint theory, as it's at the core of a book I'm currently reading :The Eugenic Mind. My initial feeling is this approach would have something interesting to say about my experience.