Reality.
INTRODUCTION - THE PUZZLES.
Philosophers have always tried to find out what's real and true by discovering and stripping away what's mistaken and apparent. They've asked fundamental questions about reality, and have uncovered ambiguities and contradictions which have given rise to long-standing disagreements. Different philosophers have had different worries about reality. This essay is about what's puzzled me personally, and how I've organised my ideas about it so far.
Our knowledge of the physical world outside our minds ["objective reality"] can only come to us via our own perceptions of it. Those pictures in our minds are clearly a different thing from the world itself. We assume that the two are very intimately related. Indeed, we assume that the world is exactly represented by our perceptions. But this isn't necessarily true. In fact, thought and experiment show that it's far from true. So what is the nature of the real world, and what is the relationship between that world and our perceptions of it?
[As I've discussed elsewhere, perception is a paradoxical notion that raises questions that haven't yet been answered. Until they are, we can only discuss this subject with reference to that concept, and that's what I'll do in this essay.]
Another puzzle: the discoveries of 20th century physics have forced physicists to carefully reconsider their ideas about what is and isn't real. They investigate electrons and protons and other things no one's ever seen. Are these things real, or merely convenient fictions used to describe the results of experiments?
When people discuss these matters, they're not usually concerned with the words "real" and "reality", but with the things these words refer to. They're concerned with facts and experiences, rather than with how to describe them. But we can only think and talk about facts and experiences by...
More Philosophy
essays:
Nature of logic and perception
... our reality which directly impacts how we are perceived by and interact with others. Our irrational perceptions can be the difference between a positive or negative situational outcome. There is one method I use to improve thinking is to questioning; the ...
Descartes, The Existence of God This goes over, describes, and defines Descartes writings on God.
... is unclear to me that there is a strict connection between the formal and objective reality. Descartes writes about how it is possible that we imagine things and ... that he is a being that thinks, doubts, desires, and questions many, many things. However, the notion that Descartes has of a God is the ...
Reality - Fact or Fiction?
... the fundamental questions can change. The key things here is that nobody can prove to you without a doubt that you are wrong. One topic of metaphysics that there is much discussion over is the topic of reality. How ...
Descartes's evil demon hypothesis, descartes and galileo's distinction between appearance and reality; Nietzsche's "History of an Error"
... of Doubt. The Method of Doubt is Descartes' method of fundamental questioning in which he doubts everything that there is the slightest ... reality, how is it that I can talk to "person A", coexist in the same environment, and be able to share similar thoughts in relationship ...
Philosophical interpretation of "reality"
... and has questioned the general perception of reality that a society possesses. Moreover, his idealist approach has led him to define ultimate reality in ... of the two philosophers is that Plato points out reality to be something beyond obvious while Aristotle defines reality as the physical objects and ...
Is indirect realism a plausable theory of perception?looking at the pros and cons of lockes indirect theory of perception.
... internal object i.e. an idea or sense datum, is a primitive action, one which cannot be broken down into steps or processes to analyse, it is the fundamental principal of perception which applies exclusively to the relationship between ...
Rationalism Vs Empiricism
... vivid perception for the beliefs in the existence of a corresponding objective reality. Idea ...
Rationalism Vs Empiricism
... vivid perception for the beliefs in the existence of a corresponding objective reality. Idea ...