chapter "The Existence of Matter"
E26031
"The Existence of Matter" is a chapter in Bertrand Russell's philosophical work *The Problems of Philosophy* that examines whether and how we can justify belief in a mind-independent material world.
Aliases (3)
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
book chapter
→
philosophical text → |
| addressesQuestion |
Can we know that an external world exists?
→
How can common-sense beliefs be philosophically justified? → What is the relation between sense-data and physical objects? → |
| arguesAgainst |
radical skepticism about the external world
→
subjective idealism → |
| author |
Bertrand Russell
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|
| contrasts |
appearance with reality
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|
| discusses |
Berkeleyan idealism
→
arguments against naive realism → arguments for the existence of matter → common-sense belief in physical objects → probabilistic justification of beliefs → representative realism → |
| epistemicMethod |
analysis of ordinary beliefs
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argument from best explanation of experience → |
| epistemicStance |
fallibilism about knowledge of the external world
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|
| genre |
philosophy
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|
| influences |
20th-century discussions of sense-data
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analytic epistemology of perception → |
| language |
English
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|
| locatedInWork |
early chapters of "The Problems of Philosophy"
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|
| mainTopic |
appearance and reality distinction
→
existence of a mind-independent material world → inference from sense-data to physical objects → justification of belief in the external world → sense-data → skepticism about the external world → |
| partOf |
"The Problems of Philosophy"
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|
| philosophicalIssue |
nature of perceptual knowledge
→
problem of the external world → realism versus idealism → |
| philosophicalTradition |
analytic philosophy
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|
| positionDefended |
belief in matter is rationally justifiable though not demonstrable with certainty
→
there is a world of physical objects independent of our minds → |
| publicationYearOfContainingWork |
1912
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|
| relatedTo |
chapter "Appearance and Reality" in "The Problems of Philosophy"
→
chapter "The Nature of Matter" in "The Problems of Philosophy" → |
| subgenre |
epistemology
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metaphysics → |
| supportsView |
physical objects are logical constructions out of sense-data
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|
| targetAudience |
general educated readers
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students of philosophy → |
| usesConcept |
sense-data as immediate objects of awareness
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|
| workContainedIn |
a popular introduction to philosophy
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|
Referenced by (3)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
The Problems of Philosophy
→
The Problems of Philosophy ("chapter "The Nature of Matter"") → |
hasPart |
|
"The Existence of Matter"
("chapter "The Nature of Matter" in "The Problems of Philosophy"")
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|
relatedTo |