In Chapter 12 Nozick takes up an interesting and provocative topic: Being More Real. There are various occurrences of the phrase 'be real' and its variants in ordinary life. Is Nozick discussing the same topic? Who knows for sure, but I think his focus is a bit different. When I hear people talking about being real it appears that they mean something like being 'genuine', 'non-artificial',, 'honest', or something like that. These ways of being may ultimately increase one's reality as Nozick understands it, but he appears to use the word 'real' in a more literal sense. A person can exhibit a greater or lesser degree of reality depending on how they live. But how can this be. Since we are all existing beings aren't we all equally real? Nozick, following philosophers such as Aristotle, will distinguish existence and reality. Sure we all exist, but some are more real than others. As an example of degrees of reality we can look at relations (like 'being taller than') and the entities that stand in the relation (say you and your youngest relative). The latter seem 'more real' than the former. This is just an example, but Nozick is clearly saying that people can vary in the degree of reality that they manifest in their life. Recalling our earlier chapters, by more fully participating in emotions, love, happiness we become more real. If we are superficial here, we are literally less real. Perhaps the easiest way to understand this is to say that being more real is being more fully immersed in human existence, not holding back.

Nozick asks: When do you feel most real? How would you answer this? What does this tell you about yourself? I ask: When do you feel less real? What does this tell you about yourself? Jot down answers to these questions - it's worth it!

Let's further understand Nozick's call to Be More Real. He sees a person as essentially a concentrated center of psychological organization. This basic definition applies to all people, but the degree of concentration and organization can vary, hence the degree of reality varies. Here are a few variable which affects our level of reality: Integration, Focus, Vividness, Value, Depth, Expressiveness, Exploring, Responding, Creating. Nozick claims that 'You are your reality.' What are you on this definition? This is a strictly metaphysical question about the nature of personal being, not a question of value. Being more real may not make you more valuable. That would require being more real in the right directions.