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Single Idea 3943

[filed under theme 11. Knowledge Aims / C. Knowing Reality / 1. Perceptual Realism / b. Direct realism ]

Full Idea

Either you perceive the being of matter immediately, or mediately; if immediately, pray inform me by which of the senses you perceive it; if mediately, let me know by what reasonings it is inferred from those things which you perceive immediately.

Clarification

'Mediately' means 'via some other process'

Gist of Idea

If existence is perceived directly, by which sense; if indirectly, how is it inferred from direct perception?

Source

George Berkeley (Three Dialogues of Hylas and Philonous [1713], II p.208)

Book Ref

Berkeley,George: 'The Principles of Human Knowledge etc.', ed/tr. Warnock,G.J. [Fontana 1962], p.208

A Reaction

A problem for strong empiricists, and he is right that existence can't be directly perceived, but it seems a good explanation (for which some reason can be shown), and supports a more rationalist view.

The 16 ideas with the same theme [we are in direct contact with reality]:

21337 A knowing being possesses a further reality, the 'presence' of the thing known [Aquinas]
22130 Scotus defended direct 'intuitive cognition', against the abstractive view [Duns Scotus, by Dumont]
3943 If existence is perceived directly, by which sense; if indirectly, how is it inferred from direct perception? [Berkeley]
23662 The existence of ideas is no more obvious than the existence of external objects [Reid]
14866 It always remains possible that the world just is the way it appears [Nietzsche]
21537 I assume we perceive the actual objects, and not their 'presentations' [Russell]
5377 'Acquaintance' is direct awareness, without inferences or judgements [Russell]
22160 Our relationship to a hammer strengthens when we use [Heidegger]
5678 Scientific direct realism says we know some properties of objects directly [Dancy,J]
5681 Maybe we are forced from direct into indirect realism by the need to explain perceptual error [Dancy,J]
6549 I think greenness is a complex microphysical property of green objects [Lycan]
6355 Direct realism says justification is partly a function of pure perceptual states, not of beliefs [Pollock/Cruz]
6643 'Ecological' approaches say we don't infer information, but pick it up directly from reality [Lowe]
19526 Surely I am acquainted with physical objects, not with appearances? [Williamson]
16374 There is a continuum from acquaintance to description in knowledge, depending on the link [Recanati]
8417 Direct realism is false, because defeasibility questions are essential to perceptual knowledge [Galloway]