back to ideas for this text


Single Idea 5373

[from 'Problems of Philosophy' by Bertrand Russell, in 11. Knowledge Aims / C. Knowing Reality / 3. Idealism / a. Idealism ]

Full Idea

We shall understand 'idealism' to be the doctrine that whatever exists, or at any rate whatever can be known to exist, must be in some sense mental.

Gist of Idea

'Idealism' says that everything which exists is in some sense mental

Source

Bertrand Russell (Problems of Philosophy [1912], Ch. 4)

Book Reference

Russell,Bertrand: 'The Problems of Philosophy' [OUP 1995], p.19


A Reaction

The interesting thing here is the phrase 'in some sense', which takes on a new light when we begin once against to take seriously ideas such as panpsychism. If the boundary between mind and brain is blurred, so is that between realism and idealism.