Why Direct Realism Needs Objective Secondary Qualities

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Shrock
Keyword(s):  
Prima Facie ◽  
Direct Realism ◽  
Eliminative Materialism ◽  
Secondary Qualities

Which of the three premises of the Problem of Secondary Qualities should we dismiss for the sake of Direct Realism? Surprisingly, the Non-Physicality Thesis. Attempts to reject the Spreading Principle and Observation Claim create more problems than they are worth. This chapter entertains and rejects five approaches to harmonizing Direct Realism and the Non-Physicality Thesis including Behaviourism, Disjunctivism, Adverbialism, and Eliminative Materialism. The Non-Physicality Thesis receives some prima facie justification from scientists, but we should examine the case more deeply before closing the Direct Realism.

A Historical Objection

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Shrock
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Direct Realism ◽  
Secondary Qualities ◽  
Indirect Realism ◽  
The Way

A final objection to the treatment of secondary qualities as objective, causally relevant, physical properties says that perceived physical properties must resemble the ideas they cause in the perceiver. This approach assumes Indirect Realism (and therefore the falsity of Direct Realism), but it was ubiquitous in Reid’s day. This chapter traces Reid’s rejection of the Way of Ideas as it bears on his defense of Direct Realism and theory of secondary qualities. Although this objection would not be likely to get traction among contemporary philosophers, this chapter presents Reid’s case for historical interest and consistency.

Thomas Reid and the Problem of Secondary Qualities

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Shrock
Keyword(s):  
Common Sense ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Direct Realism ◽  
Thomas Reid ◽  
Secondary Qualities

Thomas Reid, the father of Common Sense, champions Direct Realism against the Problem of Secondary Qualities. Direct Realism holds immediate objects of perception, like rocks and desks, to be objective and physical. But the Problem of Secondary Qualities argues that some perceptual properties—colours, smells, sounds, tastes, and heat—must be subjective or mental, because science offers no place to them in the physical world. This new reading of Thomas Reid on primary and secondary qualities shows how Reid supports Direct Realism, answers the Problem of Secondary Qualities, and maintains a healthy optimism about science and reason.

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Shrock
Keyword(s):  
Direct Realism ◽  
Secondary Qualities ◽  
The Face

Direct Realism is worth defending. The Problem of Secondary Qualities is weakest at the Non-Physicality Thesis. This book’s reading of Reid offers an account of primary and secondary qualities that rejects the Non-Physicality Thesis while embracing science. Reid’s theory answers the Problem of Secondary Qualities and remains convincing in the face of objections.

General Exposition of the Problem of Secondary Qualities

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Shrock
Keyword(s):  
Physical Object ◽  
Direct Realism ◽  
Secondary Qualities ◽  
Secondary Quality

Although objections to Direct Realism may arise from claims about any secondary quality (colour, smell, sound, taste, or heat), such objections typically take a certain form. That form involves three distinct premises: an Obsevation Claim saying that we perceive some quality, a Non-Physicality Thesis saying that the quality does not belong to a physical object, and a Spreading Principle that insists on generalizing the observed case to all perceptions. For Direct Realism to overcome the Probem of Secondary Qualities, at least one of these premises must be false.

BUDDHA AND HARD ELIMINATIVISM

Think ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (55) ◽  
pp. 95-109
Author(s):  
O'Ryan Heideman
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Mind ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Ultimate Reality ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Accurate Description ◽  
Good Basis ◽  
Eliminative Materialism ◽  
Alternative Position ◽  
The Buddha

An appropriate description for the Buddha's philosophy of persons within the frame of materialist philosophy of mind, prima facie, would understandably be a kind of reductionism, given that the Buddha reduced the self to nothing but a collection of impersonal and impermanent psychophysical elements. In this article, I argue that this view is only appropriate for understanding the self within conventional reality, as is the term used by Buddhists, and does not tackle the other half, namely, ultimate reality. I claim that eliminative materialism provides a more accurate description of the Buddha's prescriptive practice, and although falling prey to the same problems that reductionism faces, creates a good basis for an alternative position of the Buddha as a Hard Eliminativist.

Russia in international capital movement: Turn of tendencies

2017 ◽  
pp. 148-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bulatov
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Structure ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Capital Movement ◽  
International Capital ◽  
Capital Outflow ◽  
The Past ◽  
Russian Economy ◽  
National Capital ◽  
Future Situation ◽  
International Capital Movement

The paper deals with the past, current and future situation in Russian capital outflow and inflow. The specific features of the past situation (2001-2013) were as follows: big scale of Russian participation in international capital movement; turnover of national capital between Russia and offshores; stable surplus of capital outflow over inflow; inadequacy of industrial structure of capital inflow to Russian needs. The current situation is characterized by such new features as radical cut in volumes of capital outflow and inflow, some decrease in its level of offshorization. In the mid-term the probability of continuation of current trends is high. In the long-term the mode of Russian participation in international capital movement will prima facie depend on prospects of realization of systematic reforms in the Russian economy.

Reid's Primary/Secondary Quality Distinction in a Broad Context

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-62
Author(s):  
Adam Weiler Gur Arye
Keyword(s):  
Broad Context ◽  
Secondary Qualities ◽  
Secondary Quality ◽  
Quality Distinction

The paper focuses on Reid's unique epistemological distinction between the primary and the secondary qualities and examines it in relation to other facets of his philosophy: his stance vis-à-vis the scientific inquiries of secondary qualities; his aesthetics; his analysis of the perception of the primary quality of hardness; his theory of learning. An inquiry into the primary/secondary distinction which takes into account such a broad context will reveal it to be far more sophisticated, dynamic and flexible than an analysis of the distinction which solely takes into consideration the passages in which the Scottish philosopher directly and straightforwardly introduces it.

Dyadic Obligations over Complex Actions as Deontic Constraints in the Situation Calculus

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Claßen ◽  
James Delgrande
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Deontic Logic ◽  
Action Theory ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Situation Calculus ◽  
Artificial Agents ◽  
Planning Techniques ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Reasoning About Action ◽  
The Given

With the advent of artificial agents in everyday life, it is important that these agents are guided by social norms and moral guidelines. Notions of obligation, permission, and the like have traditionally been studied in the field of Deontic Logic, where deontic assertions generally refer to what an agent should or should not do; that is they refer to actions. In Artificial Intelligence, the Situation Calculus is (arguably) the best known and most studied formalism for reasoning about action and change. In this paper, we integrate these two areas by incorporating deontic notions into Situation Calculus theories. We do this by considering deontic assertions as constraints, expressed as a set of conditionals, which apply to complex actions expressed as GOLOG programs. These constraints induce a ranking of "ideality" over possible future situations. This ranking in turn is used to guide an agent in its planning deliberation, towards a course of action that adheres best to the deontic constraints. We present a formalization that includes a wide class of (dyadic) deontic assertions, lets us distinguish prima facie from all-things-considered obligations, and particularly addresses contrary-to-duty scenarios. We furthermore present results on compiling the deontic constraints directly into the Situation Calculus action theory, so as to obtain an agent that respects the given norms, but works solely based on the standard reasoning and planning techniques.

The Economics of wages and wages policy in the depression and recovery period: distinctive elements in the New Zealand debate, 1931- 1936

1970 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Endres
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Real Wage ◽  
Labour Productivity ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Currency Devaluation ◽  
Money Wage ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Compulsory Arbitration ◽  
Wage Cuts

This article discusses distinctive features of the New Zealand debate on the economics of wages and wages policy from 1931 up to the restoration of compulsory arbitration in 1936. Local economic orthodoxy proffered advice which, consistent with Keynes (1936), turned on the need for a general real wage reduction effected mostly through currency devaluation, rather than through further money wage cuts. Dissenters were critical of currency devaluation; they stressed excessively generous unemployment relief, real wage 'overhang' and structural real wage distorttons. Tentative estimates of both aggregate real product wage and labour productivity changes demonstrate, prima facie, that at least one strand in the dissenting argument was defensible.

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