Shared Perceptions, Constructed Realities: How Vasubandhu’s Mind-Only Philosophy Challenges Realist Assumptions in Intersubjectivity
Scholarly Review Journal September 15, 2025 G. Chang
Vasubandhu's mind-only philosophy argues that shared perceptions do not require mind-independent objects, offering an alternative to realist accounts of intersubjectivity. Drawing on the Twenty Verses and responses to objections about spatial-temporal perception, intersubjectivity, and effective action, the paper defends a mental-constructivist account of reality. Modern examples like phantom limb pain, the rubber hand illusion, and mass hallucinations illustrate the mind's capacity to generate shared vivid experiences without external referents. Parallels with quantum physics, including the double-slit and Stern–Gerlach experiments, show that observation plays an active, constitutive role in shaping physical outcomes, suggesting consciousness may be fundamental to constructing shared reality.