PERCEPTION- Issues With Indirect Realism: Ideas Cannot Be Like Material Objects

Question 1

Whose idea is the issue that ideas cannot be like material objects

Answer 1

Berkeleys

Question 2

Which argument of Russell’s does this theory depend on

Answer 2

That if his argument about existence of material objects isn’t a incoherent one
Berkeley argues it is as we only ever have a direct awareness of our own sense data and so the very idea of a thing that we cannot be aware of is nonsensical

Question 3

Explain Berkeleys argument about why matter cannot have primary qualities

Answer 3

All sense data ,including those of primary qualities ,depend on the mind
The qualities that we perceive in objects require a perceiving mind to exist
Since matter is said to be unperceiving it cannot have such properties

Question 4

What is Berkeley’s likeness principle

Answer 4

The idea that ideas, sense data, can only resemble other ideas and therefore we can make no sense of the claim that our ideas could be like or resemble the primary qualities of objects

Question 5

Summarise Berkeley’s likeness principle

Answer 5

P1) my idea of something has certain sensible qualities (eg a tree is green)
P2) but these sensible qualities depend on the mind
P3) to say that the idea of a tree resembles the real material tree is like saying that something visible can resemble something invisible, or that a sound can resemble what is not a sound
P4) ideas are fleeting and changing, whereas material objects are supposed to be permanent and unchanging
C1) anything outside the mind, like matter, cannot have any such qualities
C2) it follows that a supposed material object could not be like or resemble my idea of it