Home | Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking Truth in the Sciences
Meditations | Essay | On the Existence of Corporeal Objects | On his Method of Doubt | Bibliography | FAQ | Resources 

 

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF AN APPLE?

The nature of an apple can be perceived in many ways. Descartes was a realists because he proved the existence of corporeal objects so Descartes would say the object the object exists and has primary and secondary qualities. Descartes primary qualities are anything which is clear and distinct, you can apply math to it, scientists can measure it, like size, shape and motion. Then there are secondary qualities which are qualities that can be different to different people, things like colour, smell and taste. But Descartes did believe that the object itself existed.

According to Berkeley we have two types of perception upon seeing the apple. The first being the immediate perception which is the direct awaRenéss of the apple, such that it is red in colour. The second perception is the mediate perception which is indirect awaRenéss, as a result of making inferences about what is immediately perceived.

There are three types of perception being realist, representational realism and Berkley type of perception. And the immediate object of perception of an apple is interpreted differently. The realist, like Descartes would say that the immediate object such as hot or cold is a mind independent relatively unchanging object and that that quality belongs to the Apple. The Representational Realist would say that hot and cold are ideas which are representations of a physical object (apple). While Berkeley would say there are only ideas.

A realist would perceive a Mediate object of perception as coming from a physical object. A representational realist would say the mediate object of perception comes from the physical object which is the cause of the perception of ideas. Now Berkeley believes that "Physical objects" exist only as ideas in the mind.

Now if Descartes were to ask Berkeley does the object not exist when no we do not look at it. Berkeley would answer that objects do exist but only in the mind of God.

Now Berkeley didn't agree with the realist so he came out with an argument against realism. He states that immediate objects of perceptions such as hot and cold, sweet and bitter are kinds of pleasures and pains. Since pleasures and pains cannot exist unperceived or in an unperceiving substance it follows that these things (e.g.. Heat) are not qualities of physical objects and, therefore, cannot exist without the mind. He gives the example of when you put one hand in a warm bowl of water and the other in a cold bowl of water. When the subject takes his hands out of the two bowls and puts them both in a bowl of warm water one hand say's it is cold the other warm.

1. One thing cannot be simultaneously have two incompatible qualities.

2. Warm and cold are incompatible qualities

3. An immediately perceived quality is really a quality of the object perceived.

4. Water seems cold to one hand and warm to the other.

5. the water is both warm and cold (3,4)

6. the water cannot be both warm and cold

one premise must be rejected.

He also came up with another argument against realism, an argument from relativity.

(1) If an immediately perceived quality is really a quality of the perceived thing, then a change in the quality means a change in the object

(2) An immediately perceived quality is really a quality of the object perceived.
 

Send mail to webmaster@RenéDescartes.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2002 www.RenéDescartes.com
Last modified: September 04, 2002