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Michael

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Given that "I see X" is true if "I indirectly see X" is true, it is a non sequitur to argue that if "I see X" is true then "I directly see X" is true....
February 01, 2026 at 21:17
No they don't. I always did. Why is it so difficult for you to just read what I write? As per the thought experiment, both of these are true: 1. At 10...
February 01, 2026 at 21:03
No I don't. "I see X" is true if we directly see X or if we indirectly see X. It's not a "foil". It's a very real philosophical position, and is the i...
February 01, 2026 at 20:54
That's not how it's defined. This is the naive realist view that indirect realism disputes: Represented as a picture, it would be this: /uploads/resiz...
February 01, 2026 at 20:48
No, it says that seeing an apple is not the "direct presentation" of an apple, where "direct presentation" is understood in the naive realist sense: W...
February 01, 2026 at 20:42
That's indirect realism.
February 01, 2026 at 20:37
I'm not saying any of that. In fact I explicitly said several times that at 10:00:25 I see an intact red apple 10m in front of me. The issue is that y...
February 01, 2026 at 20:28
Indirect realism means that (a) is false and (b) is true. The sense datum and representational theories say that (c) is true. As before, there are two...
February 01, 2026 at 20:19
Yours is the rhetorical argument. You are misrepresenting the grammar of "seeing a mental representation". Once again, the grammar is to be understood...
February 01, 2026 at 20:12
What does it mean to see the apple as it was? Given the scenario as described, both of these are true: 1. At 10:00:25 I see an intact red apple 10m in...
February 01, 2026 at 19:57
That doesn't follow. You claim that we only have direct visual perception of light, and yet presumably you think that this allows us to know about the...
February 01, 2026 at 18:32
Of course there's light beyond the proximal stimulus, but according to your theory it isn't directly perceived because it isn't in physical contact wi...
February 01, 2026 at 17:55
No, it's a proximal stimulus. Distal objects are things like apples that reflect the light. When the traditional direct realist says "we directly see ...
February 01, 2026 at 17:40
You don't solve the problem because "most authors" (who are direct realists) also say that we have direct visual perception of apples. You appear to a...
February 01, 2026 at 17:34
We can phrase the dispute without using the words "direct" or "indirect". Group A believes that a) mind-independent objects and their properties are "...
February 01, 2026 at 17:26
I have no idea. Science primarily relies on falsification, not verification. If direct realism claims that ordinary objects are "constituents" of expe...
February 01, 2026 at 11:35
I'd say I directly perceive pain, colours, smells, tastes, etc.
February 01, 2026 at 11:29
Either way, what you mean by "direct perception" isn't what most other direct realists mean by it. They will say that we do have direct visual percept...
February 01, 2026 at 11:26
As I said to NOS4A2 there are (at least) three distinct claims: 1. We have direct visual perception of apples 2. We have direct visual perception of l...
February 01, 2026 at 11:12
It's not the indirect realist conclusion. It's the meaning of the term "direct perception" as used by both indirect realists and their direct (naive) ...
February 01, 2026 at 11:09
Yes, but in the second time period the apple is not the direct object of perception because there is no apple. I don't know what you mean by "really w...
February 01, 2026 at 10:57
The "fuss" is that between 10:00:20 and 10:00:30 I see an intact red apple 10m in front of me even though there isn't an intact red apple 10m in front...
January 31, 2026 at 18:56
But do we directly perceive the apple? Is (1) true or false?
January 31, 2026 at 18:53
And evidently you refuse to provide a consistent answer, and seemingly conflate (1) and (2). It's a simple question: is (1) true or false? I can't add...
January 31, 2026 at 17:34
These are three distinct claims: 1. We have direct visual perception of apples 2. We have direct visual perception of light 3. We have direct visual p...
January 31, 2026 at 16:58
I think we need to distinguish between "object of perception" and "direct object of perception". The apple was the object of perception when it existe...
January 31, 2026 at 13:27
Maybe you missed the earlier post. This is the thought experiment: Let's assume that we live in a world in which the air is thick and light has mass a...
January 31, 2026 at 12:45
You previously said "Yes, we directly see the environment. That includes the things in that environment." You now seem to be saying that we do not hav...
January 31, 2026 at 12:32
Do you disagree with C1? Surely if I see an intact apple 10m in front of me but there is not an intact apple 10m in front of me then the direct object...
January 30, 2026 at 10:18
Then let's extend the thought experiment. The apple is disintegrated after 20 seconds. P1. The direct object of perception cannot be something that do...
January 30, 2026 at 09:31
I'll repeat a thought experiment from earlier in the discussion. Let's assume that we live in a world in which the air is thick and light has mass and...
January 29, 2026 at 20:58
It's not trivial in the sense of being obvious. The naive view that ordinary objects are "phenomenally present" and are (usually) exactly as they appe...
January 28, 2026 at 18:33
Strictly speaking I didn't do this. I said that a) the word "cold" in "the 37°C water feels cold" refers to a sensation and that b) if "the 37°C water...
January 28, 2026 at 18:19
That's the definition of "direct perception" as used by traditional direct realists and indirect realists. When they say that "we (don't) have direct ...
January 26, 2026 at 17:08
I think I explained it quite clearly here: You then responded with the below strawman:
January 26, 2026 at 17:01
I think you're equating indirect realism with the sense-datum theory. As I said before, there are two distinct claims: 1. We only have indirect percep...
January 25, 2026 at 10:27
I very explicitly said that John and Jane agree that the bath water is 37°C but disagree as to whether this 37°C water is hot or cold. You seem to be ...
January 25, 2026 at 10:21
I think you're reading too much into it. The word "pain" refers to pain, pain is a mental phenomenon, and if I perceive pain then pain is the object o...
January 24, 2026 at 22:05
You are making an ontological claim when you accept that headaches are mental phenomena. Yet you then say that the word "headaches" does not refer to ...
January 24, 2026 at 21:29
Again, this is exactly what I have repeatedly argued; on the first page quoting the Wikipedia article on direct and indirect realism which says "indir...
January 24, 2026 at 21:20
Correct, they measure temperature. A thermometer can't tell you if 37°C water is hot or cold. Correct, unless these people are naive realists and beli...
January 24, 2026 at 20:55
As I keep saying, whether or not perception of distal objects is direct has nothing to do with language. We can quite reasonably ask if plants, non-hu...
January 24, 2026 at 20:52
It's not orthogonal. Here are two propositions: 1. The 37°C water feels cold1 2. The 37°C water is cold2 My claim is that "cold1" refers to a sensatio...
January 24, 2026 at 20:49
Depends on the claim. Something like "being punched is painful"? Sure. Something like "the Earth's mass is greater than Pluto"? I don't think so.
January 24, 2026 at 20:42
Esse Quam Videri is. I think Hanover is as well. I thought you were too, but happy to be wrong. No it isn't. I'm getting sick and tired of repeating m...
January 24, 2026 at 20:38
That's because this "thinner, grammatical use" suffices. The word "pain" refers to pain, and pain is a sensation. The word "thoughts" refers to though...
January 24, 2026 at 20:36
Yes, and? I'll repeat my previous post, as both the part you quoted and the part you didn't quote are still relevant: If just one word refers to priva...
January 24, 2026 at 20:29
I haven't claimed this. For the umpteenth time, I am only saying that the word "headaches" refers to headaches, and that headaches are a sensation.
January 24, 2026 at 20:20
"private sensations" is an English term that refers to private sensations. The first (quoted) use is an example of mention, the second (unquoted) use ...
January 24, 2026 at 20:18
What is this "a-metaphysical stance" other than the stance that metaphysical stances are false? This is a discussion about perception, not meaning, so...
January 24, 2026 at 19:53