PHIL 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Direct And Indirect Realism, Atomism, Microstructure
4 May 2018
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History of Modern Philosophy
2.28.18 Lecture Notes – Locke, Ideas
- Idea - Whatever material is in the mind that the intellectual in the mind is acting on
o Idea is the object that is the content of the mental state
o Whatever is represented by the mental state
- Ideas are representations – one of the ways of thinking about perceptions
o The content is kind of like the middleman between perception and the object
View about Perception:
- Direct realism (aka naïve realism): perception of an object is direct awareness and
acquaintance with that object
o If you directly perceive the property of the table, say the color orange, then
therefore that table has that actual property of being orange
o Such properties are called intrinsic properties – a property that is in virtue of
itself and not anything else
▪ Compatible with loneliness
▪ If the table were the only object in the universe, if there was no one to
perceive the table, it would still have the property of being orange
o We have episteic access to soethig’s itrisic properties
o Problems:
▪ Incredibly subjective especially for people with different perceptions
- Indirect realism (aka representational realism): there is an idea that is the
representation of the object
o Locke gives this view
o My awareness of the table is actually an awareness of the representation of the
table
o Perception is the direct awareness of an idea and not an object
o The table causes the idea of a table and I am aware of the idea of the table
- Implications for the limits of science
- Indirect realism, at least if the ideas are not that accurate, would undermine rationalism
- Primary/secondary qualities
- Democritus (atomist philosopher)
- Galileo
- Boyle
- Section 7: Idea and the object of representation – the relationship is inaccurate
- Section 8: Quality – the thing in the real object that can cause our ideas
o In traditional metaphysics – there are substances or properties/qualities
o Substance can exist independently whereas properties must be a part of a
substance in some way
o Properties – two categories of essential or accidental qualities
▪ Essential – defines the nature of the substance (ex: essential quality of a
soul is that it is a thinking things)
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Document Summary
Idea - whatever material is in the mind that the intellectual in the mind is acting on. Idea is the object that is the content of the mental state: whatever is represented by the mental state. Ideas are representations one of the ways of thinking about perceptions: the content is kind of like the middleman between perception and the object. Direct realism (aka na ve realism): perception of an object is direct awareness and acquaintance with that object. If the table were the only object in the universe, if there was no one to perceive the table, it would still have the property of being orange: we have episte(cid:373)ic access to so(cid:373)ethi(cid:374)g"s i(cid:374)tri(cid:374)sic properties, problems: Incredibly subjective especially for people with different perceptions. Indirect realism, at least if the ideas are not that accurate, would undermine rationalism. Section 7: idea and the object of representation the relationship is inaccurate.
