The Monist, Vol. 1, 1890-1891 : $b A quarterly magazineVarious
Philosophy
The Monist, Vol. 1, 1890-1891 : $b A quarterly magazine
Various
Philosophy -- Periodicals
Some philosophers have denied not only the existence of objects, but
also the reality of space. What is space but a certain group of
experiences? The conception of space originates by moving and by being
moved about. The conception of space is the consciousness that by
moving, or by being moved, a change is effected; that is, a certain
object serving as a point of reference is either approached or left
at a greater distance. The acts of approach or withdrawal are as much
realities as are any other acts of the subject. Discussions concerning
the reality of space accordingly become mere verbal quibbles as soon as
we understand by space the condition common to all motion-experiences.
* * * * *
#Perception and concepts.#
The mental state in which through contact with external facts one or
several of the senses are affected so as to produce a direct awareness
of their presence, is called perception. The effects of external facts
upon the sense of touch appear as different forms of resistance. To
the other senses they appear as odors, tastes, sounds, and images. All
these sensations are so many subjective methods of representing certain
objective processes. Perceptions represent immediate reality because
the objects perceived, i. e., the objects represented by an image in
the eye, a taste on the tongue, etc., are in an immediate contact
with our senses. The feeling subject is directly conscious of their
existence by their present effects. They are our _Anschauung_, i. e.,
the living presence of objective reality.
Besides this living presence of objective reality, of which our
immediate surroundings consist,—besides our _Anschauung_—, man is
in possession of more general representations, which comprise all the
memories of a certain class of percepts. We call them concepts. Man
alone through the mechanism of word-symbols has been able to form
concepts. Abstract reasoning as well as scientific thought will grow
with the assistance of concepts in the course of a higher development.
#Hallucinations and errors.#
The higher we rise in the evolution of representative feelings, i. e.,
in the development of mind, the more numerous are the opportunities
for going astray. A scientific hypothesis, if erroneous, is more
sweeping in its fallacies than a single hallucination, which is a
misinterpretation merely of certain feelings. The subjective part of an
hallucination, namely the feeling itself, is real; but the objective
part, the representative element of the feeling, is not real; that
which it is supposed to mean, does not exist. The interpretation of the
feeling is erroneous in a hallucination.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account