Idealism Flashcards
Define ‘esse est percipi’.
To be is to be perceived.
Who is the main proponent of idealism?
Berkeley
What are Berkeley’s 4 reasons that external objects are mind dependent.
1- We can’t coherently conceive a physical object
2- When an object is unperceived it has no qualities and is inconceivable
3- We experience ideas only
4- If reality exists unperceived, this leads to scepticism.
Give Berkeley’s argument against the coherent conception of physical objects.
a) A physical object must be one size or other
b) We distinguish between sizes via perception of primary qualities
c) We can’t form an idea of primary qualities without secondary qualities
d) We cannot conceive of of size independently from perception.
e) We can’t coherently conceive an object with only primary qualities.
Explain Berkeley’s argument that an unperceived object is inconceivable.
If we assume the existence of a tangible external world, we must assume the existence of something separate from its properties that exists entirely unperceived. This is an incoherent thought.
Give Berkeley’s argument that neither our senses, nor our reason support the existence of physical objects.
a) All we perceive are mind dependent primary and secondary qualities.
b) Therefore our experience cannot verify that there is a mind independent world
c) Worse still, the hypothesis of physical objects is not even suggested by experience
d) So experience supports the claim that the ‘external world’ is simply made up of experience
e) Experience supports idealism, not realism
Explain Berkeley’s fourth argument against physical objects.
Berkeley claims that if physical objects can and do exist completely independently of perception, this position leads to skepticism. We cannot connect our experiences to the idea of something beyond them which we know nothing about, so how do we know that these experiences connect to anything at all?
