direct realism essay plan

intent

direct realism is a plausible theory, using the arguments from hallucination, illusion and the strongest the time lag argument

direct realism

the theory of perception that states that the immediate objections of perception are physical objects and their properties both of which exist in a mind-independent world

it is often referred to as the common sense theory and because it argues that we perceive physical objects without any mediation so it avoids scepticism about the external world

intent

direct realism is a plausible theory, using the arguments from hallucination, illusion and the strongest the time lag argument

direct realism

the theory of perception that states that the immediate objections of perception are physical objects and their properties both of which exist in a mind-independent world

it is often referred to as the common sense theory and because it argues that we perceive physical objects without any mediation so it avoids scepticism about the external world

first objection - argument from hallucination

in a hallucination, we perceive something having some property F

when we perceive something as having some property F then there is something that is F (we can see it) however in a hallucination we don’t perceive a physical object at all

therefore in a hallucination what we perceive in mind-dependent e.g. sense data

argument from hallucination (cont.)

hallucinations can be experiences that are subjectively indistinguishable from veridical perceptions

we cannot tell whether we are hallucinating or perceiving the world and the best explanation for this is that we see the same thing (sense-data) in both hallucinations and veridical perceptions