Theories of perception (Epistemology) Flashcards
What is acquaintance knowledge?
Knowing who- places, people, personal contact.
What is direct realism?
Objects from sense perception are mind independent from an external reality.
List issues with direct realism
Illusion, perceptual variation, dream waking, hallucination, time lag
What are descartes 3 waves of doubt in order?
Illusion, dream/waking distinction, hallucination
What is indirect realism?
The immediate objects of perception are mind dependent caused by and representing mind independent objects through a veil of perception. We directly perceive sense data.
What is sense-data?
The immediate objects of perception that we are directly aware of. They only exist in the mind.
What is Locke’s primary/secondary quality distinction?
Primary qualities are intrinsic in the object such as shape, extension and number (grain of wheat example). They produce the sensory experience for us to perceive them. Secondary qualities are subsets of primary qualities, like colour and taste. They are only perceivable with primary qualities.
What is representative realism?
We don’t perceive the world directly but sense data which we are directly aware of. We cannot get past the veil of perception so we only see a version of reality.
List issues with indirect realism
Scepticism of M.I objects existing, Berkeley’s likeness principle, solipsism, can’t counter evil demon hypothesis, are primary and secondary qualities really distinct?
Explain Berkeley’s criticism of Locke
Primary qualities are also mind dependent so indirect realism is unsatisfactory. He uses colours and perceptual variation. A cloud from a distance looks pink but up close is grey. What looks small to me looks huge to a small animal. Speed of motion in the mind differs depending on size. Therefore primary qualities are subjective just like secondary qualities. All qualities are mind dependent.
What is Berkeleys idealism?
We perceive objects directly as they are, esse es percipi (to be is to be perceived). Matter only exists when it is currently being perceived. Our sense experience is a collection of ideas and sense impressions.
What is Berkeley’s likeness principle?
Sense experience can only be like other sense experiences and that cannot make good sense of the idea that sense experience might resemble something which is not sensed. If this is correct our ideas cannot resemble anything beyond the mind proving indirect realists wrong about primary qualities representing an external reality.
What is Berkeley’s Master argument?
The singular ‘proof’ of Idealism. Try to conceive of a tree which exists independently of any mind. The imagined tree is not independent of any mind because it’s in your mind. Any thought of a mind independent object immediately becomes mind dependent. The idea of a mind independent object is a contradiction.
Furthermore, if the tree falls over, the idealist claims it makes no noise and in fact there would be no tree unless someone was experiencing it. Pretending we are an observer is still in the mind.
What are weaknesses of idealism?
Though external objects can’t be imagined, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist externally.
Leads to solipsism. Esse es percipi would suggest hallucinations are real because there’s no distinction.
