Is there anything I can be absolutely certain of? The answer may be surprising, but, yes, there is. It's sensations. Stimuli, feelings, emotions, thoughts, sensory data, touch, smell, sound, sight, and taste, motions, the contractions of the muscles. All these together are what I define as sensations. I cannot define them any simpler. They are there, in great variety and intensity, but defy any deeper analysis.
Constantly, during my waking hours, sensations are there. True, when sleeping or sedated, they are markedly reduced or absent altogether. But even then, they sometimes reappear more vividly as dreams. I may be having hallucinations, delusions or illusions, and my sensations of reality may be wildly incorrect.
But I cannot deny experiencing the sensations that occur. I am absolutely sure they are. They are self-evident. If I were to deny them, it would would entail that there are no experiences at all, and there is no difference between sleep and awakening. But there is such a difference, so sensations must exist.
Of course, that doesn't mean anything with regards to reality or truth. But it's a starting point. It's encouraging to know there's something I can be are absolutely sure of. :)
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