This question may seem entirely preposterous at first glance.

How could a person possibly be their own God? Does that even make sense?

After deeper analysis, your answer to those questions may surprise you.

Basic Argument

Consider this: everything that a person experiences is experienced through their own brain. That brain uses the data from its sensory organs to reconstruct a Reality that is then perceived by that person. Essentially,  the brain recreates its own reality. Assuming that a person’s god is defined as “an entity that creates the reality in which one exists,” a person is then the god of their own reality.

What Is A God?

The main problem with this argument is the definition of “god.” Using different definitions could question the validity of the argument. For example, “god” could also be defined as the more common religious definition of “the creator of the physical Universe.” In that case, it is not fair to call people “gods,” because they are not creators of the universe, only gods of their own reality.

Importantly, this does not go against anything claimed in the argument. All that is claimed is that a person is the god of reality as they perceive it, which is still a remarkable thought. However, its significance is questioned when its consequences are considered.

Using this logic, every conscious being is their own god, making every goldfish, fly, lizard, and parrot a god of their own. This thought will likely cause many to think that the claim then has no significance, for if everything is a god, then “god” has no meaning at all. Right?

When you think about it, “god” still has an extraordinary meaning in this case, because life and consciousness itself are rare in the universe as we know it, but that is still not enough for many people. Many religions would claim that the universe must have only one god, otherwise the definition of “god” is invalid.  That brings us back to the remarkable thought that you don’t have to be the god of the universe to be a god of a person’s reality. The fact still remains that while a person may not have created the entire universe, they still created their own perceived reality, making them the god of their own reality and nothing more.

Does That Even Matter?

Now that the claim  of people being the gods of their own reality has stood against multiple counterarguments, it is now important to consider if the claim means anything.

So what? If you aren’t the god of the universe, then why does it even matter?

The answer to that question is largely a philosophical one, and has to mainly come from within. However, the amazement that results from investigating its implications will help you answer that question for yourself.

People tend to have interesting ideas about the creator of reality. For most scientists, the question is not a question at all, for the laws of physics do not require a creator. For religious people, the answer lies in a being that is almighty and powerful, far superior to all people.

Regardless of your idea of the creator of the universe, the fact that you as well are a creator of a reality is grand. Yes, it is fair to say that being the god of your own reality is not as impressive as being the god of the entire physical universe, but it still has significance. After all, it makes all conscious beings gods, and no one can say that idea is not exciting.

Are We Limited To Only Our Own Reality?

To add another interesting dimension to this question, one can ask what other “things” we are “gods” of, for being the god of our own reality may not be entirely satisfying. In fact, it turns out that we can be complete and total gods of universes entirely created by us.

When we simulate a universe (or usually only a small portion of a universe) with a computer, we are creating a universe, we are becoming gods. Of course, that does not make us the god of our universe, only the god of the simulated universe. That is still very interesting, however, because that means we have reached the level of “creator” that we usually imagine as being an almighty and superior to all being, we have become a god of a universe.

Keep that in mind the next time you are playing Call of Duty, or even Frogger for that matter!

Note: Images are not original, only the ideas