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external world
Also known as: external world, external objective world, external reality
Facts (30)
Sources
Understanding epistemology and its key approaches in research cefcambodia.com Jan 21, 2023 7 facts
claimThe core argument of positivism is that facts about the external world exist to be discovered, and knowledge is based on sensory experience measurable through empirical or scientific inquiry.
referenceThe infallibility argument, as formulated by Noah Lemos (2007), posits that because humans are not infallible about the existence and character of the external world, and knowledge requires infallibility, humans do not have knowledge about the external world.
claimSkepticism is a philosophical view that human beings lack knowledge about the external world, the past, and other minds beyond the contents of their own minds, and that humans do not know as much as they think they do.
formulaCarter and Littlejohn (2021) formalized George Edward Moore's response to skepticism as a logical argument: (1) Here are two hands; (2) If hands exist, then there is an external world; (3) Therefore, there is an external world.
referenceThe certainty argument, as formulated by Noah Lemos (2007), posits that because one cannot be certain about the external world, and knowledge requires certainty, one cannot know what the external world is like.
claimNoah Lemos (2007) formulated several skeptical arguments to demonstrate that humans do not or cannot have knowledge about the external world.
claimLocal skepticism is a less extreme form of skepticism that holds that humans do or can have some knowledge, except for specific domains such as the external world, the past, and other minds.
Virtue Epistemology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 4 facts
claimAccording to one variety of skepticism, humans do not and cannot have any non-question-begging reasons for thinking that any beliefs about the external world are true, because such reasons inevitably depend for their force on the very beliefs in question.
claimJohn Greco's response to skepticism allows for knowledge of the external world even in cases where a person lacks cogent or non-question-begging reasons for believing that the external world exists.
claimIf an agent possesses a reliable disposition to form beliefs about the external world based on sensory experience, knowledge of the external world is possible for that agent under John Greco's account of knowledge, even if the agent lacks grounds that satisfy the skeptic's stringent demands.
claimJohn Greco argues against skepticism about the external world by claiming that if a person possesses a reliable disposition to reason from the appearance of an external world to its existence, then knowledge of the external world is possible for that person.
7.1 What Epistemology Studies - Introduction to Philosophy | OpenStax openstax.org Jun 15, 2022 4 facts
claimBertrand Russell's theory of perception implies that individuals always use reasoning to access the external world, as they must infer the existence of external objects from their sense data.
claimThe potential gap between an individual's experience of the world and the world itself, as introduced by Bertrand Russell's theory, is used by some thinkers to argue that knowledge of the external world is impossible.
claimPhilosophers who argue that knowledge of the external world is impossible base their position on the idea that individuals can never be certain of the truth of their beliefs about the external world.
claimSome philosophers contend that individuals can directly perceive objects in the external world, challenging the theory that experience is mediated through sense data.
Epistemology - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 3 facts
claimFred Wilson authored the book 'The External World and Our Knowledge of It: Hume's Critical Realism, an Exposition and a Defence', published by the University of Toronto Press in 2008.
perspectiveSome postmodern and feminist thinkers adopt a constructivist approach, arguing that human perception of the world is a social construction rather than a simple reflection of external reality, which emphasizes the role of interpretation and undermines objectivity.
perspectiveIn the epistemology of perception, indirect realists argue that the connection between the perceiver and the perceived object is indirect, involving mental entities like ideas or sense data that mediate between the perceiver and the external world.
Epistemology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 2 facts
claimDavid Hume argues that reason is incapable of providing justification for any belief about the external world that extends beyond the scope of current sense perceptions.
claimLocal skepticism is the view that knowledge is limited in specific domains like mathematics, morality, or the external world, whereas global skepticism is the view that humans cannot know anything at all.
Epistemology - Belief, Justification, Rationality | Britannica britannica.com Mar 13, 2026 2 facts
Sources of Knowledge: Rationalism, Empiricism, and the Kantian ... press.rebus.community 2 facts
claimEmpiricists emphasize the category of 'synthetic a posteriori' knowledge, which includes truths about the external world known immediately via the senses or scientific investigation.
claimSensations, impressions, and perceptions are considered certain because individuals cannot be wrong about the fact that they are having a particular sensation, even if they are mistaken about the external world.
Epistemology - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Dec 14, 2005 1 fact
perspectiveCoherentists argue that if a belief system contains beliefs such as 'Many of my beliefs have their origin in perceptual experiences' and 'My perceptual experiences are reliable', it is reasonable for the subject to think that their belief system brings them into contact with external reality.
Naturalistic Epistemology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 1 fact
claimNaturalistic epistemologists often reject Cartesian skeptical problems by arguing that these problems presuppose that beliefs about the external world require external validation before they can be fully justified.
Self-Consciousness - Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science oecs.mit.edu Jul 24, 2024 1 fact
claimImmanuel Kant introduced the idea that self-consciousness is interdependent with consciousness of an external objective world, asserting that one can only be aware of oneself to the extent that one experiences an organized world of objects that interact causally and predictably.
The function(s) of consciousness: an evolutionary perspective frontiersin.org Nov 25, 2024 1 fact
perspectiveConsciousness encodes information about the external world in real-time and in evolutionary time, with the latter being underappreciated in the view of the author, Lacalli.
Epistemology grokipedia.com 1 fact
claimG. E. Moore countered skepticism in 'Proof of the External World' by holding up his hands as evidence, asserting that if such known facts exist, then an external world exists, prioritizing everyday certainties over abstract doubt.
Self-Consciousness - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 13, 2017 1 fact
claimDonald Davidson's triangulation argument connects self-consciousness, knowledge of other minds, and knowledge of the external world, asserting that for thoughts to have determinate content, there must exist another subject who is able to interpret the thinker.