Direct Realism Flashcards
(14 cards)
What is direct realism
Direct realism is a theory of perception that states our sense perception perceives mind independent objects and their properties immediately without a third mediating thing between us and the object.
the issue of illusion
1) when subject to an illusion an object to a perceiver appears to have a specific property
2) the perceiver is directly aware of the property
3) but the object doesn’t have this property in reality
4) so what the perceiver is aware of and what is actually real are distinct
5) therefore direct realism is false as we do not perceive physical objects directly
Example: bent straw in water
Response to the issue of illusion
this response tackles premise two “the perceiver is directly aware of the property”. The direct realist would posit that what I am directly aware of is not something different from the physical object. I am not directly aware of of something distinct from the straw. contrastingly, I am directly aware of the real straw itself that appears to be bent due to the circumstances (the laws of refraction). This appearance is not something mediating between the perceiver and the object, but rather a manner of the objects appearance. objects do not need to always appear as they are, but are subject to their environment. As there is no mediating factor, the indirect realism falsy assumes there is some mediating third factor such as sense data, and the perceiver is actually still directly perceiving the actual object.
the issue of perceptual variation
The direct realist says I perceive physical objects and their properties, ‘directly’, as they are. The argument from perceptual variation runs like this:
P1. There are variations in perception.
P2. Our perception varies without corresponding changes in the physical object we perceive. (For instance, the table remains rectangular, even as the way it looks to me changes as I look at it from different angles.) [Russell’s Table]
C1. Therefore, the properties physical objects have and the properties they appear to have are not identical.
C2. Therefore, what we are immediately aware of in perception is not exactly the same as what exists independently of our minds.
C3. Therefore, we do not perceive physical objects directly.
Response to the issue of perceptual variation
The issue attacks that perceivers do not direct perceive the properties of a physical object. However, direct realist can respond by saying objects do appear differently to perceivers, but they are nonetheless being directly perceived. For example, the table being a trapezoid doesn’t actually have this property and is still rectangular. in these cases of perceptual error we can amend them but for instance standing at an appropriate angle to the table. There is no real debate upon whether the table is rectangular or trapezoid because we are all in truth perceiving a table with the property of being rectangular. Therefore, direct realism is correct in that we directly perceive the object and its properties, so there is no need to posit some third thing mediating between the perceiver and the object.
the issue of hallucination
1) a hallucination occurs when someone is perceiving something which doesn’t exist outside of the mind
2) so when they perceive, the thing perceived exists only in the mind
3) hallucinations can be subjectively indistinguishable to veridical perception
4) but if hallucinations and veridical perceptions are subjectively indistinguishable, then the person must be aware of the same thing in both cases
5) so what they are aware of in veridical perception must also be in the mind
6) therefore we perceive the world indirectly and direct realism is false.
elephant example
this suggests that perception isnt directly linked to the world (the elephant seems just as real in a hallucination), therefore there must be some part of it that is a mental representation.
response to the issue of hallucination
the fact that veridical perception and hallucinations are subjectively indistinguishable doesn’t mean that they are the same thing in reality. For instance, they are casually very different. While veridical perception is caused by physical objects impacting on the sense organ, hallucinations are caused by some malfunction of the brain. therefore, even if they are indistinguishable, they are not identical, meaning that just because hallucinations occur in the mind, it doesn’t mean that veridical perception must have some purely mental element too.
the issue of time lag
1) the light from distant objects take time to reach our eyes
2) so what we are seeing now may no longer exist
3) so what we are seeing and what is there is different
4) this is no less true than close objects
5) therefore what we are perceiving are the appearance of objects and not the physical objects themselves - direct realism is false
Example: sunlight takes eight minutes to get to the earth
response to the issue of time lag
the direct realist admits that there is a time lag to perception but this doesn’t mean there must be some third mediating factor between the object and the perceiver and that we do not directly perceive the physical object. Direct realism does not posit that the perception must be simultaneous. Therefore, we can be perceiving objects as they were, but this is still a direct perception from object to perceiver without any third factor in between. Therefore, the time lag does not mean we are seeing the objects indirectly, but simply that we are seeing them as they were.
what are mind independent objects
Not depending on a mind for existence or definition, they exist ‘out there’ in the external world. According to realism in perception, physical objects are mind-independent
what is an illusion
An inaccurate perception where what we perceive is different from what exists For example, when a stick half-submerged in water appears separated due to refraction. Here there is an x, a stick, which appears to have a property F, in this case being crooked, but in reality x doesn’t have property F (the stick is not crooked).
what is a hallucination
A non-veridical perceptual experience that is not connected with the rest of our perceptual experience.
What is perceptual variation
Perceptual variation is when different people perceive the same physical object differently.
Table example
what’s the difference between and primary and a secondary quality
Primary qualities are inherent to the object and are mind independent (for example, extension), whereas secondary qualities are mind dependent and only have causal power - that is, only the power to cause a certain sensations in the mind of whoever’s perceiving the object. For example, when looking at a tree, we perceive its primary qualities of size and shape, which are its primary qualities. and color and smell which are its secondary qualities
