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Indirect Realism Essay...

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Alice speller indirect realism essay Indirect realism is the idea that we perceive the world through our sense data, manipulating objects and perceiving them independently. For example each person will view the external world within their own independent way. I personally believe indirect realism (I.D) provides the best hypothesis for our perception/ the external world. In comparison indirect realism is a far better hypothesis for the external world than direct realism as it explains situations such as hallucinations, illusions etc. I believe indirect realism provides the best solution for our perception of the world. Throughout this essay I shall be discussing the reasons why it is considered the best and the critiques that follow. Indirect realism (IR) has many reasons for it to be held as the best view for the external world. One of the main ones includes how direct realism is not comparable with experiences such as illusion, delusion, hallucination, perpetual variation and time lag, where as indirect realism suggests that if we view the world through our sense data these do not pose themselves as an issue, due to the fact indirect realism provides an explanation of hallucinations etc., it just being our sense data. IR also solves the problem of the external world; we no longer have to deliberate over if what we perceive is accurate as we can put it down to our sense data. Sense data and indirect realism face many challenges and critiques, issues concerning the external world challenge sense data. The most important problem is the ‘veil of perception’, the problem emerged from the question, ‘how do we know the representation that our sense give us of the external world are accurate’, translating into how do we know there is an external world beyond the veil of perception, the veil being our sense data. The veil of perception argument proves itself to be one of the biggest critiques towards indirect realism. George Berkeley an Irish bishop agrees with the veil of perception argument, suggesting how can something so different and diverse from the external world represent it? Without a point of view beyond our minds how can we establish how accurate our experience is? Descartes five waves of doubt also apply, for example how can we trust experience when it may be a demon, dream, hallucination, vision, delusion or illusion deceiving us. Due to the fact many believe there is simply not enough evidence to suggest that sense data is accurate allowing people to discredit it. Many different scholars and accumulated multiply response and replies to this strong critique. Locke and Russell bring the main responses to us. Locke formulates his argument and uses the analogy of ‘men in a regiment’ to clarify his argument. Locke suggests that a regiment of men may look different at different points of view, e.g.. facing them, opposite, at the left, birds eye view etc. however this does not change the shape or the order of the men in the regiment, our sense data lets us know about the order of the regiment even though the shape of the regiment may fluxuate depending on the view. Russell provides his arguments as thus: he suggests that each human is born with innate and natural instincts, it is a natural instinct of ours to believe in what our sense data is telling us especially as many of humans sense data is correspondent to each other. His second argument is the success of science, we as humans have been making logical assumptions and theories on our external world and the properties within for centuries helping us to understand the world more as well as what’s within. For this we have been using our sense data, for example the colour of leaves are green so they can produce more oxygen and nutrients for itself (photosynthesis) this is a now logical theory and fact that our

Alice speller indirect realism essay sense data has helped us to understand, so why should we doubt it? Russel also provides the analogy of the cat. Russel suggests that is it easier to explain that once the cat walks behind a piece of furniture out of the perceivers view that it no longer exists? Or it has travelled into a different dimension, or has it simply just gone behind the sofa still fully intact and in existence. Russel suggests that it is far easier and simpler to conclude that the cat has simply just gone behind the sofa. Ockham’s razor also supports this point suggesting that we should always believe in the most simple and rational theory, ‘do not multiply entities beyond necessity’

The second veil of perception (VOP2) is another critique on indirect realism, otherwise known as the ‘the problem of causations’, how can a physical object (those with primary qualities) interact with something non-physical such as sense data. This argument similarly relates to Descartes and Rye’s views on how the mind and body interact with one another, ‘the ghost in the machine etc.’. One would argue that sense data couldn’t represent the external world, as it is not a direct view. It is shaded or diverged by this representation we interpret through our sense data meaning we cannot see what the world would be like without it, we couldn’t step out of the pre defined confinements being our mind. An example of the VOP2 was the research into a honey -bees perception and eyesight. In a study it was discovered that bees view the world through the ultra violet spectrum as this benefits them to find food and pollen, making everything appear very different to a human’s eyesight. This poses the question that has the correct view? One may even ask how do we know or perceive God’s perspective even though this is impossible during a mortal life this may only be discovered during the estalogical ramifications of death. A response to the VPO2 lies within Russels and Locke’s different theories of primary and secondary qualities. Locke claimed that there is a key distinction between primary and secondary qualities, by this he means primary qualities are inseparable, permanent and they do not have dispositions that aren’t measurable, e.g.: the size of a tree. However secondary qualities are separable from objects they are non measurable and are dependent on the primary qualities existence. He makes this distinction between the two by saying that physical objects cannot loose some of the properties without ceasing to exist these are the primary qualities (shape, size etc.). However it can lose secondary qualities being colour, taste smell etc. and it will still exist. Secondary qualities would not exist without a perceiver, they are perceiver dependent. For example the famous question ‘if a tree falls in a forest but no one is around to hear it does it really make a sound’, if sound is just a secondary quality they surely the tree just falls silently as there is ear drum to manipulate the sound vibrations causes by the tree falling. Russell’s argument is similar to Locke’s in the fact he makes a distinction between primary and secondary qualities. He suggests we can understand the relationship between material objects and the intrinsic nature of them. (Spatial-temporal) It is entirely subject and opinion dependent of the person whether they choose to believe in indirect realism or not. Indirect realism I believe to be the most powerful hypothesis for the existence of the external world, it allows us to make predictions, it is consistent and coherent as well as being simple (Ockhams razor) this is why I

Alice speller indirect realism essay personally believe indirect realism to be the best hypothesis for the existence of the world....