Random epistemology

Primary qualities

Properties of any objects that exist mind independently of any observer e.g size and shape

Secondary qualities

Properties of an object that exist mind dependently and depend on a perceiver’s perception

Indirect realist theory

• A philosophical theory about perception

• It suggests that we do not perceive the external world directly

• We instead experience it through mental representations or sense data created by our minds

Sense data

Refers to the immediate objects of perception that are mind dependent and exist within our consciousness

‘Hands in the bowl of water’ example

• You have three bowls of water -one is filled with lukewarm water, the other one with cold and the third one with hot water

• You place one hand in the hot and the other hand in the cold water and after a while you place both hands into the bowl of lukewarm water

• The hand in the hot water will perceive the lukewarm as cold and the cold hand will perceive the lukewarm water as hot

• This example shows that our sensory experiences are relative

‘Blind man’ example

This example involves a man being born blind who cannot comprehend concepts like light or colour because he has no sensory experiences of them

Relational properties

Characteristics of an object or entity that depend on its relationship with other objects or entities

Indirect realists

They do not believe that we perceive the external world directly. Instead they argue that our perception is mediated by mental representations or sense data

Direct realists

They believe that we do perceive the external world directly, without any intermediaries like sense data or mental representations

Mind independently

To perceive an object mind independently it means to experience or understand objects and properties as they exist independently of any observer’s mind or perception

Mind dependently

This means that the objects existence or properties rely on the observer’s perception or mental faculties

Scepticism

The attitude of questioning or doubting knowledge claims

Indubitable

When something it is indubitable, it means you cannot doubt it and there is not a single fault in it

Perceptual variation argument

It challenges direct realism by highlighting how our perception of an object can vary depending on the conditions under which it is observed

Direct realism

Perceiving the world directly as it is

Indirect realism

The belief that our perception is mediated by mental representations or sense data

Mediated

Refers to something that is experienced or understood indirectly

Unmediated

Refers to something that is experienced or understood directly

Idealism

• Emphasises the primacy of ideas, consciousness or mental constructs

What does a priori mean?

Knowledge gained independent of experience

What does a posteriori mean?

Knowledge that is gained with experience

What is rational intuition?

You can discover something to be true just by thinking about it

What is deduction?

It’s a form of reasoning that states that if the premises are true then the conclusion must also be true

What are clear ideas?

When we are able to think about an idea fully with all the attention of our minds

What are distinct ideas?

If the idea is clear and it is not defined in terms of anything else; it is something in and of itself

What is the trademark argument?

• Descartes came up with this argument as there was no other logical explanation for why he was having certain thoughts

• This argument argues for the existence of god

What is the causal adequacy principle?

The cause of anything must be equal to its effect

What does Hume say about causation?

• Hume believes that to know causes you need to experience it and then you gain knowledge from it

• Hume says that you infer causation through experiencing it over and over again

What is an argument against CAP?

• Evolution is an argument against as it may be a very slow process but we have been caused by many small changes

What empirical evidence is there against CAP?

Matchsticks and fires are good concept examples to use against CAP

How does an empiricist explain god?

• God is just a being with all of the same attributes as a human, but ‘extended beyond all limits’

• We get ideas like the idea of god from experiencing them from other humans then we augment them in our imagination

How does Descartes argue back from Hume’s response about CAP?

• Descartes argued that to have the concept of ‘not- finite’ or ‘imperfect’ requires the idea of ‘perfect’ to negotiate

• But we don’t know we are imperfect unless we have the idea of perfect, which we are not perfect

What is Meno’s slave?

• This analogy is about a slave that is told to solve geometry problems

• The idea of the analogy is to say that if we know something then there is no need to learn it

• And if we don’t know something then we don’t know we have to learn it