Establishing Idealism 1
How does Berkeley challenge the idea of heat existing in objects?
He argues that if heat existed in objects, we would have to accept that the object itself possesses the quality of pain, which is absurd.
What is Berkeley’s response to the idea of a ‘material substratum’?
He argues it is incoherent because it cannot be perceived and has no qualities in itself.
What role does God play in Berkeley’s idealism?
God is the mind that causes our perceptions and ensures the consistency of the physical world.
What is solipsism?
Solipsism is the view that only one's own mind exists
What does Berkeley mean by ‘sensible things’?
Sensible things are objects or qualities that are directly perceived by the senses.
What is the primary flaw in Berkeley’s ‘master argument’?
Berkeley confuses a thought with what the thought is about. Just because thinking of a tree is mind-dependent, it does not follow that the tree itself is mind-dependent.
What role does systematicity in perception play in Berkeley’s argument for God?
The order and complexity of perceptions suggest they are caused by a divine mind, not random chance.
What does Berkeley say about the cause of hallucinations?
He suggests that hallucinations are products of the individual mind rather than part of the perceptions sustained by God, making them irregular and disconnected from reality.
What is the solipsistic objection to Berkeley’s idealism?
If everything depends on perception, how can we know that other minds or external objects exist apart from our own perceptions?
Give two examples that Berkeley uses to show that secondary qualities are mind dependent.
P1. A cloud from a distance looks pink, but up close, it loses its colour (or appears grey).
P2. A solid physical object, viewed through a microscope, appears to have different colours than those it has when viewed normally.
P3. Different animals perceive the colours of objects differently.
P4. If colours really existed in physical objects, then to change the colour, it would be necessary to change the object itself. But, of course, different kinds of light – daylight, candlelight, etc. – change the colour of an object without changing the object.
C1. Therefore, all colours are appearances, not properties of physical objects.
What does Berkeley say about the idea of a physical object existing unperceived?
He argues that the idea is incoherent because we cannot conceive of an object existing without a mind perceiving it.
What does Berkeley mean by saying ideas are passive?
Ideas cannot act or cause anything; they are experienced by the mind.
What role does coherence play in Berkeley’s explanation of hallucinations?
Coherence serves as the criterion to differentiate hallucinations from genuine perceptions, as hallucinations lack the consistency of perceptions shared by other minds.
How does Berkeley justify the existence of other human minds within his idealist framework?
Berkeley claims that we infer other minds through their behaviors, just as we observe the effects of our own minds through actions and communication.
What does Berkeley mean by ‘esse est percipi’?
"To be is to be perceived," meaning that the existence of objects depends on their being perceived by a mind.
What is the main difference between Hylas and Philonous regarding the existence of matter?
Hylas believes in mind-independent matter, while Philonous (Berkeley) argues that matter cannot exist independently of the mind.
What is the objection concerning illusions and hallucinations in Berkeley’s philosophy?
Critics argue that if perception defines reality, illusions and hallucinations must also be considered real, leading to absurd conclusions.