naive and representative realism

hey

im not sure how does representative realism overcome the problem of deception/illusion?

Any help would be great thanks

Reply 1

Ché Cubano

im not sure abt the scientific arguement i assume ur talking about the fact that we know colours exist beacause of their wavelengths etc, and physics if true defeats naive realism also.

for ur 2nd que

The Representative realist argues that illusions happen when sensation occurs in the mind and there is nothing corresponding to it in the world. For example, the stick bent in water is evidently something in ur mind beacause there is no actual stick that can do that in reality. Therefore representative realists also believe that deceptive sense data and actual objects are two seperate entities.>> Secondary and primary qualities.

:smile:

Reply 2

monty mike

Ché Cubano

Therefore representative realists also believe that deceptive sense data and actual objects are two seperate entities.>> Secondary and primary qualities.
:smile:

Don't confuse Secondary and Primary qualities (which is Locke) with Sense Data (which is Russell). Locke's qualities were concerning attributes such as Mass/Dimensions (primary) and Colour/Texture (secondary), though these are just examples.

Russell, however, argued that sense data (or datum) was our mind's interpretation of the external world. Note that both forms of realism (indirect/direct, representative/naive) believed in the existence of a physical world which was seperate of us.

When we see an illusion, such as a straight stick bent in water, it is not because the stick is actually bent, but rather because our interpretation is vulnerable to error (e.g. the tricks of light or sensation). This is what RR calls sense data. Whilst, on the other hand, the logic of direct realism would dictate that the stick is actually bent because the world is exactly as we see it. Therefore, it doesn't solve the problem of illusion/deception because it says that the illusion is actual, when in fact it is mental/subjective :wink: