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Chain 1
From Chains of Reason
Summary
Proposition: The world of one's perceptions is merely a mental simulation of the external world.
Reasoning: The perceptual process takes time, so the world of one's perceptions in the present must be the external world of the past, but the external world of the past cannot exist in the present, so the world of one's perceptions must be merely a mental simulation of the external world. (The time lag argument for indirect perception.)
1) Perception is dependent on information about the external world reaching the brain, via the sense organs, and then being processed there.
2) It takes time for information about the external world to reach the brain, via the sense organs, and then be processed there.
3) The world of one's perceptions in the present is always the external world as it was in the past.
4) The external world of the past cannot itself exist in the present, although a representation of it can. SEE ALSO:
- Chain 34: The external world of the past can exist in the present. SUMMARY:
- The content of a memory is the external world of the past, and memories exist in the present as they are being experienced, and so the external world of the past can exist in the present.
5) The world of one's perceptions is not the external world itself, but a representation of it.
6) An experienced world which does not exist external to the mind must exist inside one's mind, like the worlds of one's imagination, dreams and memories.
7) The world of one's perceptions is merely a mental simulation of the external world. SEE ALSO:
External links
- Representative realism - Wikipedia article
