PERCEPTION- Issues With Indirect Realism: Scepticism About The Existance Of Mind-indpenedent Objects. Response Flashcards
What is Lockes response of the involuntary nature of our experience
We are not in control of our sense data
If I close my eyes I will receive certain sense data and not something I have any choice about
Perception isn’t subject to my will, it cannot come from me
The source of sensation must be external
What is the second of Lockes arguments that appeals to the way our different senses cohere with each other
The coherence of various kinds of experience
What examples are used in the coherence of various kinds of experience argument
We can both see a fire and feel it’s heat
It’s possible to see and hear a bus move
What does Catherine Trotter Cockburn observe
We associate the ways objects feel to the touch and the way that they appear to the eye
Eg if you recognise a dice from touch you could predict how it would feel
You can also predict what you will perceive next
Eg if I close my eyes while writing I can predict what words will appear when I open my eyes again
What does the fact that our senses independently offer support for each others claim
There is one external cause of both sets of perceptions
What is Locke aware that these are not
Valid deductive arguments
As I cannot control my sense experiences and that they cohere with each other doesn’t entail that they must be caused by material reality as this inference goes beyond the evidence
Eg when you dream you cannot always control what you dream. You may appear to see, hear and feel the same objects but dreams don’t correspond with material reality
What does Locke believe that he has reasonably proved
That the inference to the existence of mind-dependent objects is reasonable as it’s the best explanation of experience than other alternatives like it is all a dream
What is Russell’s response
The external world is the ‘best hypothesis’
What is Russell’s argument
That while there is no may to prove the existence of a material world it’s still possible to avoid scepticism. Therefore proposes:
We have an instinctive belief in the existence of material reality which corresponds with our sense data and that we should only reject these instinctive beliefs if they are incoherent.
Therefore it’s the sceptic’s responsibility to show that a belief in the outside world is untenable.
However, this belief isn’t contradictory and makes good sense of our experience as it explains why our sense data appear in regular and predictable ways
