Whiteboards – What is the external world?

Which is the best answer? The external world is the physical world that exists independently of our perception of the world. It consists of primary qualities that are mind-independent. The external world is everything that exists outside of our minds. The external world is the public space that exists outside of our minds, it is what enables perception as it produces sense data. The external world is the outside world and objects of reality that we perceive and are aware of.

Which is the best answer? The external world is the physical world that exists independently of our perception of the world. It consists of primary qualities that are mind-independent. The external world is everything that exists outside of our minds. The external world is the public space that exists outside of our minds, it is what enables perception as it produces sense data. The external world is the outside world and objects of reality that we perceive and are aware of.

Key Points: The external world is everything that exists outside of our minds. Key things to remember: Redundancy can easily lose you marks on short answers. Make sure you stick to the definition and the definition only. If a term is used in more than one theory don’t include anything that connects it to a single theory. Definitions are just a matter of revising, recapping and learning them. Using them in lesson and in writing will help with this. Don’t be afraid to leave your answer short if it covers what is required. Too many people seem to panic and add more than they need because they think they haven’t done enough. Make use of your glossary in lesson to help you with definitions, the handouts and textbooks are good resources to help you complete this.

3 Mark—Levels of response mark scheme Checking your work: The external world is everything that exists outside of our minds. Read through the answer of the person next to you. What have they included that is good or missed out that they need? Can you see why they’ve been given the mark they have? Marks 3 Mark—Levels of response mark scheme   3 AO1 3 A full and correct answer, precise, with little or no redundancy. 2 Most of the content is correct, but there may be some imprecision / redundancy. 1 Fragmented points Nothing worthy of credit.

Whiteboards – Can you put the argument from perceptual variation in premise / conclusion form?

Whiteboards – Can you put the argument from perceptual variation in premise / conclusion form? Objects seem to change depending on the perspective of the perceiver (i.e. the reflection of light on a table changing positions as you move). If Direct Realism were true (and we were seeing objects directly as they are), this would mean the object itself is constantly changing to suit our perspective. We know the object can’t be constantly changing. C: Therefore Direct Realism cannot be true.

5 Mark—Levels of response mark scheme Objects seem to change depending on the perspective of the perceiver (i.e. the reflection of light on a table changing positions as you move). If Direct Realism were true (and we were seeing objects directly as they are), this would mean the object itself is constantly changing to suit our perspective. We know the object can’t be constantly changing. C: Therefore Direct Realism cannot be true. If this is a full and complete answer, what is missing from your answer that lost you marks? Check the work of the person next to you and help them figure it out. Marks 5 Mark—Levels of response mark scheme   5 AO1 5 A full, clear and precise explanation. The student makes logical links between clearly identified points, with no redundancy or imprecision. 4 A clear explanation, with logical links, but some imprecision / redundancy. 3 Most of the content is correct and there is an attempt at linking. But the explanation is not full and/or precise. 2 One or two related points, but not precise. The logic is unclear. 1 Fragmented points, no logical structure. Nothing worthy of credit

Key Points: 5 Mark Question Key things to remember: If you’re asked to outline a criticism, you absolutely must highlight why it is a criticism. Writing arguments in premise/conclusion form will help you notice if anything is missing. People who did this invariably got higher marks. Do not do premise/conclusion form if you are unsure of the argument, you will confuse yourself more. Make sure your answer is complete! Too many people left the final step (therefore direct realism is false) missing, or they missed a key point (what direct realism means for our perception if its true).

Whiteboards – What were the arguments Locke used to try and show we could know the external world exists?

Outline the view that indirect realism leads to scepticism about the existence of the external world, and explain one of Locke’s responses. Should be looking for two clear sections in your answer: How indirect realism can lead to scepticism about the existence of the external world. How Locke tries to deal with this with one of his responses.

Outline the view that indirect realism leads to scepticism about the existence of the external world, and explain one of Locke’s responses. The problem: Indirect realism is the view that we do not see the world directly, instead we perceive sense data that is generated by the objects in the external world. If this is true then there is the question of how we can know the external world exists at all if we never perceive it directly. We could easily imagine other causes for our perceptions (Descartes evil demon, virtual reality) rather than actual physical objects. This scepticism will exist as long as there is a gap between our perception and the world as it really is. Help each other to identify what you are missing in the first part of your 12 mark answer.

Outline the view that indirect realism leads to scepticism about the existence of the external world, and explain one of Locke’s responses. Locke’s Responses: Coherence of senses - We could doubt whether our sense data from one sense was caused by a physical object in the external world. But if this experience is supported by sense data from other senses, it seems more likely that the various forms of sense data are caused by a real physical object: Involuntary nature of perception - We can’t choose which sense data we experience. If there were no physical objects causing the sense data, we might be able to change it, to choose not to experience it, or to experience it differently. But we can’t do these things, which suggests that our sense data are not caused by us, but by a separate external world outside of our control. Primary qualities / Secondary qualities – We perceive certain qualities that we would assume are mind-independent (shape, size, motion, number) it’s hard to see how we could be wrong about our perception of these qualities when they are backed up by multiple senses and multiple people. It seems therefore that these qualities at least exist in some external objects. Help each other to identify what you are missing in the first part of your 12 mark answer.

Why did you get the mark you did? What can be improved? Outline the view that indirect realism leads to scepticism about the existence of the external world, and explain one of Locke’s responses. Why did you get the mark you did? What can be improved? Key things: Lack of precision and clarity cost a lot of marks. There was a lot of waffle and beating around the bush, often the highest marked answers were shorter than many lower grade ones. Not being explicit about the problem. Why is it hard to show the external world exists as an IDR? Not knowing Locke’s responses / using a responses that was not Locke. You need to revise and learn them, no excuses. Not explicitly showing how these responses addressed the issue of scepticism. How do they show the existence of the external world?

D.I.R.T – Dedicated Improvement and Reflection Time Get a green pen. At the end of your work dedicate a section to DIRT, if you need to do this on a separate sheet of paper do so, but it should be something that can be put with your test in your folder. Use the feedback and information given this lesson to correct / improve your answers as best you can. You do not necessarily need to rewrite answers (you could just add extra information) but you may need to in some cases. Use a * to mark where it would fit in if you want to address a specific point. You can use your notes, textbooks, myself and other people in the room to help you do this.

Idealism George Berkeley

Berkeley’s Attack on P+S Quality Distinction What two reasons did Berkeley have for stating that the Primary and Secondary quality distinction was rubbish?

Berkeley’s Attack on the P+S Quality Distinction… Size, shape and motion are as subject to the variability of perception as colour, smell or sound. In the case of these ‘secondary’ qualities we can’t say the object has one real colour that is independent of how we perceive it. Therefore we cannot say that an object has one real shape or size or motion, independent of how it is perceived. C: Therefore, the primary qualities of objects are just as mind-dependent as secondary qualities. In addition, it is wrong to think that we can imagine an object (e.g. an apple) having only primary qualities and being devoid of its sensory qualities (e.g. colour). C: So our idea of secondary qualities are actually inseparable from our ideas of primary ones.

Consequences? Since primary and secondary qualities are actually inseparable, and both are mind-dependent, Berkeley thought Locke was wholly mistaken with his attempt to distinguish between the two. In fact, Berkeley went as far as to state that he did not believe we perceive anything that is mind- independent. Berkeley’s theory of idealism therefore is – the belief that all that exists are minds and their ideas.

Idealism The immediate objects of perception are mind- dependent objects. These objects don’t represent reality, they are reality. There are no mind- independent objects.

Quick Comparison Picture Form Direct Realism Indirect Realism Idealism

Idealism For Berkeley, ideas/sense data do not represent objects; rather they constitute them (i.e. they are objects). Objects are no more than collections of ideas/sense data and as such, cannot have an existence independent of being perceived. Therefore, “esse est percipi” (to be is to be perceived). Berkeley’s theory of perception is what we might be left with if we were to apply Ockham’s Razor (the requirement not to multiply entities unnecessarily) to indirect realism. Berkeley cuts out the (supposed) unnecessary entities, independent material objects, while leaving the world, as experienced by us, the same. There is only the mental world, the world of ideas/sense data, and there is no separate, independent material world. Thus, idealism states that everything that exists is dependent on mind and its properties.

Idealism The immediate objects of perception are mind- dependent objects. These objects don’t represent reality, they are reality. There are no mind- independent objects. Worth noting here that Berkeley’s attack on the primary / secondary quality distinction is not his only argument for idealism. We will be discussing 2 more over the following lessons. We’ll also be addressing the key points of idealism at the start of next lesson.

Lesson Objective And Summary Lesson Objective: Summary:

Homework - Research What is the ‘likeness principle’ according to Berkeley? Why is this a problem for indirect realism? Due: Next Monday