Miss Woolley

Question 1

What is important for people who aren’t direct realists?

Answer 1

Immediate awareness of a mind-independent reality.

Or we could doubt everything we know.

Question 2

What are the main 5 points of direct realism?

Answer 2

• experience the world itself, not a mental representation-what you see is what you get.
• the qualities are in the object itself.
• a mind-independent external world exists.
• our perceptions are unmediated.

Question 3

What are 2 other names for direct realism?

Answer 3

• common sense

* Naive realism

Question 4

What is an example of a direct realist?

Answer 4

Thomas Reid

Question 5

Where was Thomas Reid from?

Answer 5

He was Scottish

Question 6

When was Thomas Reid alive?

Answer 6

1710-1796

Question 7

What did Thomas Reid claim?

Answer 7

The foundations upon which our sensus communis are build justify our belief that there is an external world.
These foundations include certain beliefs like, “I am talking to a real person” and “There is an external world whose laws do not change.”

Question 8

What does sensus communis mean?

Answer 8

Common sense

Question 9

In writing what does [] around words mean?

Answer 9

Adding something to make it make sense.

Question 10

What did Thomas Reid say?

Answer 10

“It is not [the qualities of an object], but to that which is the subject of them, that we give the name body. If [someone denies first principles I will leave them as you can’t reason with them.

Question 11

What is sense data?

Answer 11

Data from our senses

E.g. Brownness, hardness, coolness

Question 12

What is ockam’s razor?

Answer 12

The idea that you should accept the simple answer as it is likely it is right.

Question 13

What are 3 strengths of direct realism?

Answer 13

• If the properties of objects are not in the object itself then where are they?
• Russell refers to these as sense data. We cannot locate these anywhere else, so they must be in the object- Ockam’s razor.
• makes sense properties are in the object or would be in our sense data and our sense data is fallible-e.g speckled hen problem-Chisholm. The speckles are in the hen not our head and senses.

Question 14

What are the main 5 points of direct realism?

Answer 14

• experience world itself- not mental representations.
• qualities are in object.
• what you see is what you get- mind-independent external world exists.
• perceptions are unmediated- object and perception are identical.
• experience world directly.