Week 10: Objectivity Flashcards
(23 cards)
What is the one thing Descartes believes we can know for certain?
That we think: “I think, therefore I am.”
According to Descartes, why can we not be wrong about our perceptions?
Because even if the perception is false, the fact that we are perceiving it is still true.
What is the Cartesian conception of the subject (3 main points)?
- We are essentially minds or thinking beings.
- We have perfect, transparent access to our own thoughts.
- Knowledge of the external world is indirect and less certain.
What does Descartes mean by the “veil of ideas”?
We don’t access the world directly, only through our mental representations of it.
What are Descartes’ primary qualities?
Objective properties of an object itself (e.g. shape, size, motion).
What are Descartes’ secondary qualities?
Subjective effects objects have on us (e.g. colour, taste, smell).
What kind of world results from focusing only on primary qualities?
A mechanical world: predictable, measurable, and objective.
What does “subjective” mean in everyday language vs. in Descartes’ philosophy?
- Everyday: varies from person to person.
- Descartes: anything related to the human subject (including perception and experience).
What problem does the Cartesian view pose for the humanities?
If objectivity means stripping away all human meaning, then the humanities, based on meaning, can’t be objective.
What are the three responses to the problem of objectivity in the humanities?
- Imitate natural science.
- Reject objectivity.
- Reject the Cartesian idea of objectivity itself.
Why is the study of art seen as between subjective and objective?
It involves subjective experience but isn’t purely about personal feelings—it has shared meaning.
What does Gadamer say about understanding art?
Understanding art is never complete—no analysis can say everything about it.
Why can’t art be explained using Cartesian science?
Because art demands engagement and interpretation, not detached observation.
What conclusion does the discussion of art lead to about Cartesian objectivity?
Cartesian objectivity is too limited; it must be rejected to make sense of art and human experience.
What is the duality within stage-one perspectivism?
Some perspectives distort reality (like optical illusions), but we can correct them by combining multiple viewpoints.
What is stage-two perspectivism?
We begin to question all experience and wonder if true objectivity would require concepts totally unlike our current ones, but still aimed at explaining our experience.
What is stage-three perspectivism?
The idea that we can never escape our own perspective, and so objective knowledge is impossible for humans.
What is stage-four perspectivism?
There is nothing beyond perspectives; no reason to believe in an objective world at all.
What does Conant say Nietzsche believes a perspective must do?
It must offer a glimpse of the object it refers to; otherwise it’s not a perspective but an illusion.
According to Nietzsche (via Conant), how do we approach knowledge?
By alternating, comparing, and triangulating multiple perspectives to gain a fuller, more objective view.
How does perspectivism link objectivity and intersubjectivity?
Objectivity comes from combining diverse perspectives across individuals or groups—it’s built from shared understanding.
Postmodernists must do two things to attack the traditional view of foundations:
1) show that traditional foundations do not work
2) give an alternative account of justification
To solve the problem of foundations, postmodernists claim the following:
1) It is an illusion to believe that there is such a thing as justification itself
2) There is only justification for a specific person you’re talking to
3) And that kind of justification doesn’t stop at a foundation, but simply at something that you and your interlocutor agree on.
