Episode 154: Metaphysical Vertigo (Borges's "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius")

In the famous words of the idealist philosopher George Berkeley, “To exist is to be perceived.” Our ideas and perceptions are the fundamental objects in the universe; there is no real world beyond them. Hume wrote (I think) that Berkeley’s arguments don’t admit of the slightest refutation, and they don’t inspire the slightest conviction. On Earth, that may be true. On Tlön, it’s false – the people there are “congenital idealists.” Their language, philosophy, literature, and religion presuppose idealism. It’s their common sense. And their philosophy starts to encroach on their reality. But what happens when we read and hear about Tlön – can their idealism invade our “real” world? Will we start to lose our metaphysical bearings? David and Tamler talk about Borges’s invasive, unsettling story “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.” Please listen so we can exist!

(And speaking of things that may or may not exist, we also discuss the metaphysics of holes.)

This episode is brought to you by GiveWell and the generous support of our listeners.

Sponsored By:

• GiveWell

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Is a hole a real thing, or just a place where something isn’t? | Aeon Ideas
• The Simpsons - Nature's Biggest Holes - YouTube
• Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius - Wikipedia
• Neoplatonism and Gnosticism - Wikipedia