ARGUMENTS AGAINST DIRECT REALISM

Question 1

Illusion

Answer 1

p1- when subject to an illusion, there appears to have an apparent property
p2-the perceiver is directly aware of this
p3- this apparent property does not exist in real life
c1- what the perceiver is directly aware of and what is real is distinct

Question 2

Perceptual variation

Answer 2

P1 -direct realism claims that the immediate objects of perception are material objects and their properties
p2-but when we perceive physical objects the properties may vary
p3-the properties of the object themselves don’t vary
c-so direct realism is false. The apparent properties are not the same as the real properties

Question 3

Berkleys example

Answer 3

P1-direct realism claims physical objects possess mind independent properties which we directly perceive
p2-but materials are perceived to have incompatible properties (hot and cold at the same time)
p3-they cannot possess incompatible properties in reality
c-Therefore direct realism is false: material objects do not possess such properties

Question 4

hallucinations

Answer 4

p1-Hallucinations occur when when a person perceives something outside of the mind.
c1-so what they perceive is mind dependent
p2-hallucinations can be subjectively indistinguishable from veridical perception
p3-the person must be aware of the same thing in both cases
c2- so from c1,p2,p3 what they are directly aware of during veridical perception must also be on the mind
c3- Hence direct realism is false.

Question 5

time lag

Answer 5

p1- the light from distant objects takes time to reach our eyes
c1-so what we are seeing may not exist
c2- so what we perceive may be different in reality
p2- this is no less true for physical objects in any distance
c3- therefore we just see appearances

Question 6

Issue with illusion Ps and Cs

Answer 6

P2, misrepresents the situation. it may not be the case we are directly aware of the apparent property.

there is no ‘thing’, we should instead say that we are directly aware of the real straw, but it appears bent due to the circumstances. direct realists don’t have to to suppose that objects have to appear directly as they are.

Question 7

issues with berkleys/perceptual variation Ps and Cs

Answer 7

direct realist has to give up naive view that we perceive properties as they really are.
they can say that the perceived physical objects can be differently perceived by people while still being directly perceived.

Question 8

issues with hallucination Ps and Cs

Answer 8

P2- subjectively indistinguishable , doesn’t mean they are the same phenomenon in reality.
hallucinations have very different causal roles to veridical perception as they are caused by malfunctions in the brain, whereas veridical perception are from sensory organs detecting outside stimuli

Question 9

issues with time lag Ps and Cs

Answer 9

C1 doesn’t imply C2. what we see may not exist, therefore we do not perceive in what is in reality. Time lag argument is a straw man. direct realists do not claim our perceptions must be simultaneous with our perceiving.