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Full Idea
We must regard matter as a logical construction.
Gist of Idea
Matter is a logical construction
Source
Bertrand Russell (The Ultimate Constituents of Matter [1915], p.132)
Book Ref
Russell,Bertrand: 'Mysticism and Logic' [Unwin 1989], p.132
A Reaction
A logical construction is a fancy way of saying a best explanation (but with Ockham's Razor hanging over it). A key component missing from Russell's account is that we can directly experience matter, because we are made of it.
| 7545 | Visible things are physical and external, but only exist when viewed [Russell] |
| 7546 | A man is a succession of momentary men, bound by continuity and causation [Russell] |
| 7547 | Matter requires a division into time-corpuscles as well as space-corpuscles [Russell] |
| 7548 | Classes, grouped by a convenient property, are logical constructions [Russell] |
| 7549 | If my body literally lost its mind, the object seen when I see a flash would still exist [Russell] |
| 7550 | We could probably, in principle, infer minds from brains, and brains from minds [Russell] |
| 7551 | Matter is a logical construction [Russell] |
| 7552 | Six dimensions are needed for a particular, three within its own space, and three to locate that space [Russell] |
| 7553 | Sense-data are purely physical [Russell] |