Knowledge From Perception Flashcards
What are the 3 theories of perception?
Direct Realism
Indirect Realism
Idealism (Anti-realism)
What is Direct Realism?
“What you see is what you get”
• The external world exists independently of the mind (hence, realism)
• We perceive the external world directly (hence, direct)
Problems of Direct Realism
Illusion - Perception of reality sometimes doesn’t match reality e.g., pencil in water looks bent but isn’t really bent
Hallucination - Can perceive things that aren’t there i.e., not perceiving anythings from the external world/reality
Perceptual variation - Betrand Russell, things can look different at different angles e.g., table can look kite shaped or rectangular
Time lag - Light takes 8 mins to reach Earth from the sun so you are not perceiving the sun directly
What is Indirect Realism?
• The external world exists independently of the mind (hence, realism)
• But we perceive the external world indirectly, via sense data (hence, indirect)
Philosophers: John Locke, Bertrand Russell
Problem of Indirect Realism
Scepticism about nature and existence of reality
If we only perceive sense data, and not the object itself, how can we know anything about the external world?
No way of telling if sense data is accurate representation of external world
What is Idealism?
The immediate objects of perception are mind-dependent ideas
• There is no external world independent of minds (rejects realism)
• We perceive ideas directly
Philosopher for idealism
BERKELEY
Bishop George Berkeley (1685-1753) is the most famous proponent of idealism
Problems of Idealism
Solipsism - the view that one’s mind is the only mind that exists
Hallucination & Illusion
Sense Data
Direct objects of sensation
Sense datum - sight, touch, smell, etc
What we perceive before any cognitive function such as inference or judgment
E.g., Face of a penny from above = circular shape, face of penny from angle = oblong shape
