Stephen Hawking to Weibo fans: we can’t tell if life is just a dream
Asked about ancient Chinese philosopher Master Zhuang, cosmologist admits doubts about reality
Renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking has told his three million fans on mainland social media that we cannot be sure if we are all living in a dream, or in reality.
“How do we know if we are living in our dreams or reality – well, we just don’t and perhaps can’t!” Hawking wrote in a post on Weibo, the mainland’s microblogging website and equivalent to Twitter.
Hawking’s comment was in response to a question on the writings of the ancient Chinese philosopher, Zhuangzi, or “Master Zhuang”, who lived around the 4th century.
After dreaming of becoming a butterfly, Zhuangzi wondered if he was a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or a butterfly that dreamt of being a man.
How do we know if we are living in our dreams or reality – well, we just don’t and perhaps can’t ... We must keep striving for an understanding of the fundamental questions of existence
“Zhuangzi dreamt of being a butterfly – perhaps because he was a man who loved freedom,” Hawking wrote. “I might dream of the universe and then wonder if the universe dreamt of me.