Philosophy -210: Appearance vs. Reality Essay

Abstract What is acquaintance? How do we obtain to have cognition? What are the different sources of familiarity? How do we fill in anything at any? The philosophers and theories I will cover here are not concerned with noesis itself precisely how we actu each(prenominal)y hold acquaintance. How do we gain experience? Are we natural(p) with it? How do we know what weve learned is real. That is some of the questions these philosophers filter out to answer with their theories on companionship. still do we keep back or disagree with them? That is the question. Introduction.Before we begin discussing philosophers and their theories we must(prenominal) have a basic understanding of Epistemology which is the offset of philosophy concerned with the study of knowledge and belief. thither are two schools of thought in epistemology, rationalism and empiricism. Empiricists give care Bertrand Russell and David Hume conceive that smack make out is the eventual(prenominal) starting omen for all knowledge and that knowledge is obtained from experience only. But yet rationalist like Rene Descartes occupyed that the ultimate starting point for all knowledge is not the senses but reason and that knowledge back tooth only be obtained through logic and reasoning. philosophy is not a waste of time It is a way to open new doors within champions mind. (Bertrand Russell. ) Bertrand Russells essay on expression versus reality adjudicates to do just that and open wizards mind to considering how things we see are not really as they seem. Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable person could doubt it? Bertrand Russell circa (1872-1970) page. 73-77 & page. 82 86. Russell conceived that all knowledge is ultimately derived from our sensory wisdoms of the world more or less us. Russell coined the term sense data in his attempt to discern the relationship between appearance and reality. centripetal data is how an individual w ould perceive things ground on touch, smell, taste, sight, or auditory stimulation. Can it not be manipulated? If an individual is under the influence of alcohol or drugs is there sensory learning not impair by the effects of both. I intrust the point Russell is trying to make is that what is real to us whitethorn not be real at all. But do you agree with him. What would his counter parts look of his theories? Would Descartes agree? What about Hume. Rene Descartes circa (1596-1650) page. 87-91 Descartes believed that pure reason is the or so authorized form of knowledge, he was a rationalist.He did not believe that the information gained through our senses was reliable and that our senses could be deceived. He doubted the reliability of sense perception and believed that knowledge could only be obtained through the organized application of reason. With that said, what would Descartess think of Bertrand Russells theories regarding how knowledge is obtained? Would Russells the ories conflict with his own? * I believe Descartes would challenge Russells theories by arguing that you could not rely solely on sensory information in launch to gain knowledge.Descartes would say that we experience sensory stimulation while sleeping thereof we cannot only rely on sensory excitant as the only form of learning. He would claim that certain things in the universe are course constant and not open to interpretation or manipulation. III. David Hume circa (1711-1776) page 108-117 David Hume believed that all human knowledge is based on relations amongst ideas or what he called sense impressions, and that knowledge depends entirely on the evidence provided by our senses. Therefore anything not given an experience is a mere invention and must be discarded.He believed that human reason or inquiry could be divided into two categories, relations of ideas and matter of fact. As with Russell, Hume was an empiricist. He was more concerned about what and how we know and not wit h what is actually the case. Although Hume and Russell differed in their philosophical theories I believe they would agree with one another to an extent. outcome I cant say I disagree with any one of the philosophers theories referenced in the text. In fact I personally believe that you have to apply all of their theories in order to gain knowledge.We do learn from example and from experience, but yet some things cant be explained by logic and reasoning. Are babies not born hungry? If they are born with no knowledge how do they know theyre hungry. I believe in order to truly gain knowledge you must keep an open mind to all possibilities and forms of learning. Works Cited Bertrand Russell. (Stanford encyclopedia of Philosophy). N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. . Cahn, Steven M. Exploring Philosophy An antecedent Anthology. New York Oxford UP, 2000.Print. David Hume. (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. . Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Hu me, DavidA . N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. . Online Research in Philosophy. Steven M. Cahn (ed. ), Exploring Philosophy An prefatory Anthology. N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. . Rene Descartes. Rene Descartes. N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .