Notes

Issues, including:
• the argument from illusion
• the argument from perceptual variation
(Russell’s table example)
• the argument from hallucination (the
possibility of experiences that are
subjectively indistinguishable from
veridical perception)
• the time-lag argument.
Indirect realism: the immediate objects
of perception are mind-dependent objects
that are caused by and represent mindindependent
objects.
Issues, including:
• it leads to scepticism about the
‘existence’ of the external world
(attacking ‘realism’)
° responses (external world is
the ‘best hypothesis’ (Russell);
coherence of the various senses
and lack of choice over our
experiences (Locke))
• it leads to scepticism about the
‘nature’ of the external world
(attacking ‘representative’)
° responses (sense data tell us
of ‘relations’ between objects
(Russell); the distinction between
primary and secondary qualities
(Locke))
• problems arising from the view that
mind-dependent objects represent
mind-independent objects and are
caused by mind-independent objects.
Berkeley’s idealism: the immediate objects
of perception (ie ordinary objects such as
tables, chairs, etc) are mind-dependent
objects.
Berkeley’s attack on the primary/secondary
property distinction and his ‘master’
argument.
Issues, including:
• it leads to solipsism
• it does not give an adequate account
of illusions and hallucinations
• it cannot secure objective space and
time
• whether God can be used to play the
role He does