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Idealism

Briefly explain the view that what is perceived immediately are ideas, which exist only in the mind.

Idealism can easily be said to evolve and improve on indirect realism. The theory holds that objects and the external world exist in our minds, and not independent of them. Our experience of the world is, basically, sensory input and so mental representations replace the objects that we take for granted as being extended. Unlike indirect realism, however, idealism does not attempt to debate the existence of the external world, as, to the idealist is unknowable. Objects in the external world for example a car, or a building, or even other people, only exist when perceived. The idealist argues that the world beyond our experiences is unimportant and the only important things are our experiences. Also, the idealist has an argument from linguistics – to say “I can see a tree” is: for the idealist, merely a shorthand way of saying “I am having a tree-type visual experience”. In this respect, idealism can be connected to phenomenalism.

Outline and illustrate the arguments which might be used to support an idealist theory or perception.

There are many arguments in favour of idealism, of which the main ones are from the idealist Berkeley. One of these arguments is that of inseparability. The idealist, like most philosophers, believes that there are, fundamentally, two types of properties; primary and secondary. It is thought that primary qualities (extension, mass, shape) are independent of the mind and features of the external world, and secondary qualities (colour, shape, texture) are dependant on the mind, without which, we could not perceive these things. The idealist states that it is impossible to divide these two qualities in thought, by abstraction, and, to the idealist, this leaves them ultimately inseparable. If both are inseparable they are mind dependant and therefore merely ideas.

A second argument is from the notion that “nothing can be like an idea but another idea. Our minds and thoughts are constantly fleeting and skipping through various images, memories and present perceptions, so they simply cannot be founded on anything fixed or constant, such as objects.”

Outline and illustrate two arguments which might be used to criticise an idealist theory of perception.

One of the biggest problems with idealism is that it can so easily collapse into solipsism, the view that only my mind and its thoughts exist. If anything in the external world is an idea, then that must account also, for other people. If other people exist only in my head, and only when I perceive them, what is there to suggest that they or indeed anything exists at all?

A second criticism would be that of our actual sensory perception. We perceive objects, such as a pen or a chair, and everything else we perceive that same object it looks as it does the last time we saw it. This is because, according to the idealist, our sensory data is ordered and arranged in patterns ensuring the same perception second time around. Why though, would this bother happening if there was an external world? Surely for mere thoughts and mental perceptions, that is a heavily complex theory. Also, if our sense data is so ordered and patterned, how is it that we can hallucinate or dream? Idealism does not provide solid answers for these questions leaving it flawed and unsatisfactory.

Comment

These notes are aimed at people studying for AQA A2 Philosophy Personal Identity.

Origianlly written by eraze on TSR Forums.