Idealism (incomplete)

What is idealism?

What is idealism?

Theory that there is no external, mind-independent world. The world only exists in our mind. Berkeley called anything we perceived ideas. We perceive ideas directly. Something only exists if it is perceived.

What are Berkeley’s 3 dialogues between hylas and philonous?

Berkeley believes objects do not exist independent of the perceiver and rather that everything we oerceive is mind-dependent on God’s mind,

How does Berkeley disprove materialism using primary and secondary qualities?

• when we perceive an object, we don’t perceive anything other than its primary and secondary qualities

• So everything we perceive is a primary or secondary quality

• Secondary qualities are mind dependent. Berkeley uses the secondary quality of heat to prove this. When you burn your hand on a stove, you do not feel pain and heat seperately, the pain is the heat and the heat is the pain. Pain is mind-dependent and since pain is heat the secondary quality of heat is also mind dependent.

• Primary qualities are also mind dependent as they have their own versions of perceptual variation (the problem of perceptual variation is what caused secondary qualities to be theorised). A raspberry may appear small to us but large to an ant.

• So everything we perceive is mind-dependent.

What is the master argument?

Presented as dialogue between hylas and philonous:

• p: try think of an object that exists independently of being deceived.

• h: ok i am thinking of a tree that is not being perceived by anyone.

• p: that is impossible. You are still perceiving the tree.

Berkeley is arguing that we can’t conceive of a mind-independent object because as soon as we conceive it it becomes mind-dependent. So you can’t prove the existence of mind-independent objects.

What is Berkeley’s theory of idealism with god as the cause of our experiences?

Everything we perceive is mind-dependent.

There are 3 possible causes of these perceptions:

• the ideas

• My own mind

• Another mind

It can’t be ideas as they can’t cause themselves if they are mind dependent.

Can’t be my own mind as i would control my sense experience then.

Must be another mind. This mind must be God as the perceptions are so complex, varied and ordered.

So God is permanently perceiving the universe and what we perceive are copies of ideas that exist in God’s mind.

What is a criticism to God being the cause of our experiences and Berkeley’s response?

Humans feel pain and if all that we perceive are copies of God’s ideas then God must feel pain as well. But this does not make sense because God is supposed to be perfect and not feel pain. CA: Berkeley says that God does not feel pain but has an understanding of it. When we feel pain it is because God wills us to feel pain.

What is the solipsism criticism about idealism?

If everything we perceive is mind-dependent then that means that the people being perceived don’t actually exist and that the world doesn’t exist after i die and didn’t exist before i was born. CA: Berkeley argues the world and people do exist because of his theory that everything we perceiev are copies of God’s ideas.

What is the criticism about illusion and hallucination for idealism?

If everything is a direct perception of mind-independent objects, then this means illusions exist exactly as how they are perceived so a pencil in water that looks crooked is actually crooked. This feels wrong. CA: but betkeley argues that this is in fact what is happening and tge reason we think its an illusion is because it misleads us about future perceptions eg feeling the pencil is straight. But this doesn’t make the pencil any less real than being straight. CCA: then this would mean that hallucinations eg seeing a unicorn after taking drugs are actually teal. And why would god want to trick is.