Knowledge of the external world
- Created by: RupertV1
- Created on: 30-04-14 11:20
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- Knowledge of the External world
- Representative Realism
- Key claim: There is an external world independent of the mind
- We perceive it indirectly via mental representations of it (sense data)
- Arguments for: Illusions, variability of perception and hallucinations
- Argument from Physics: Material objects appear solid but contain more space than matter
- Distance between subatomic particles is a matchbox to the ceiling of the Royal Albert hall
- Solipsism: We do not know what causes our sense data, so we don't know their is an external world at all
- Descartes evil demon
- Against: the veil of perception- we can't remove the veil and step outside to see what the external world is really like (if there is one)
- Against: Where is the sense data located? it seems to be outside the mind, but since they are ideas that would make sense data misleading
- Reply: The best working hypothesis is that there is an external world
- Key claim: There is an external world independent of the mind
- Idealism
- Key claim: There is NO external world, just minds and ideas
- The PHYSICAL world does exists, but it is made of the ideas we perceive (sense data)
- For: Variability of perception
- For: The argument that we can not even conceive of matter, as Ideas cannot come from experience
- Perception is direct, so no scepticism
- Against: physical object cease to exist when you are no longer perceiving them- doesn't make sense
- Because they are sense data
- Reply: God perceives everything continuously
- Idealism relies on God to work
- ad hoc: no independent justification for God
- Solipsism: Objects are made of ideas which are sense data, ideas and sense data are private. Meaning that we must all experience the word differently
- Direct Realism
- External world exists independently of the mind
- For: It's simple- only involves two types of entity- our minds and material objects
- Occam's razor- Simplest answer is the right answer
- The theory is supported by our common-sense understanding of perception
- Argument: Illusions- appearance can be different from reality, our minds can be tricked
- Stick bending in water- looks like it is bent but it isn't
- Against: Variability of perception- appearance can be different from reality
- Different people see things from a different lighting/angle- perception varies
- Against: Hallucinations- Appearance can be different for reality
- Macbeths Dagger
- Untitled
- Argument against Hallucinations- Hallucinations must be distinguishable from reality because we otherwise we wouldn't have a concept of hallucinations
- For DR: Appearances need not be in the mind but can be apart of the world
- Church disguised as a barn, doesn't involve seeing sense data
- we perceive relational properties of material objects directly
- Church disguised as a barn, doesn't involve seeing sense data
- Representative Realism
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