Nothing really exists, said Johnny. I’m sure of it now. Nothing exists ever.
Mike was looking at him like he was crazy. What do you mean nothing exist? We’re here, aren’t we?
No. We’re not here. This is all just an illusion. I exist, but you don’t. This room doesn’t. And I can prove it. Not to you, of course. You don’t exist.
Mike rolled his eyes and went towards the door. You do that, he said. I’m leaving. You got it all wrong.
Johnny jumped him from behind.
Mike fell to the ground. What the…? Johnny sat down on top of him. He had a kitchen knife in his hand.
You don’t exist, and now you die!
Fuck off, man, That’s even a contradictio…
Johnny stabbed him in the throat. Blood poured out on the floor.
And now it’s my turn, Johnny said to himself. According to his new revelation he’d been talking to himself all his life anyway, so why stop now.
The ultimate proof that everything but his own mind was just an illusion was about to be his. He stabbed himself in the chest, aiming for his heart. He missed it. The illusion of pain, he thought. He stabbed again.
Everything went black. He never found out, but he was wrong.
https://wordlandvoyage.wordpress.com/2017/03/25/meaningless-moments/
Fictionspawn 
Ouch. Sucks to be Johnny, but at least he tried!
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He did. Like always, however crazy your idea is, if it turns out well you’re a hero, if not you’re a fool.
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That’s real commitment to an idea.
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Some healthy sceptisism isn’t a bad idea;)
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Hmmmmmm . Maybe “I feel, therefore I am” is more correct. But did Johnny continue to “exist” after his death? That is the question my friend the fiction writer, that is the question. Which reminds me, I’m due to stroke out a post in the next day or so. Good story!!
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I have always thought “I perseive” is the best term, I think it was a critic Hume made in his time, but “feel” is better than “think” in my opinion. The big question is: Can you be sure of the I? Buddha would say no;) In the metaphysics of this story, however, he does not continue as his person in any way. My beliefs turns in that direction as well. Thank you for sharing interesting thoughts:)
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Thanks for writing.
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2017 version: “I’m on FB. Therefore I am.”
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😄
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If you die in the Matrix, you die in the real world, too.
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Hehe, I thought of that frase for a moment when I wrote it. Seemingly, Johnny did not.
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Poor Mike. Poor Johnny. Wonder what he could have made of his life once he figured he was wrong.
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Too late for that now. He seemed to be a bit too convinced of his beliefs, though. I think he’d probably find another thing to go crazy about, but who knows. When there’s life, there’s hope;)
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Lol. Indeed
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Errr. I have a son who is in an eastern religion class. He recently asked me something about Buddha. I answered something about him seeing people suffering after he left the family palace. He said, no, that it’s something about everything being profane. One of his older brothers said the teacher was taking a particular track… and after a bit added (because the younger son was acting arrogant and rejecting anything about suffering): You’re listening to your teacher and you got it wrong.
I was thinking of Buddhism when reading your story. But found the Descartes link an interesting take. Will have to read more of it.
I like “perceive” better than “think” in the formulation too.
Anyway, we learn to think through our senses.
Great application of a Matrix line, James!
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Hehe, the teachings of Buddha has a lot of aspects. Descartes created this frase as an absolute certainty, but as I mentioned earlier I believe Buddha would disagree on the “I” part as he rejected the idea of a “self”. Buddhist philosophers have been debating the appearent contradiction of there being no self and reincarnation ever since, but Immanuel Kant argued that our reason and logic could be uncapable of understanding metaphysics anyway, so who knows;)
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