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Loading... The Evidence of the Senses: A Realist Theory of Perception (edition 1988)by David Kelley
Work InformationThe Evidence of the Senses: A Realist Theory of Perception by David Kelley
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Philosophy is for people who want to learn about the basis of objective reality. A theory of perception grounded in the reality of our senses is explained in this book. ( ) The title and subtitle signal what this book is about: The Evidence of the Senses: A Realist Theory of Perception. That is, this is a work of epistemology: the branch of philosophy that covers knowledge--what it is, how we know what we know and how we can be sure of it. The back cover describes this book as a defense of "realism" and presents an argument that "perception is the discrimination of objects as entities, that the awareness of these objects is direct, and that perception is a reliable foundation for empirical knowledge. Right up front in the Acknowledgments Kelley admits a debt to Ayn Rand, who he calls "the philosopher who had the greatest influence on my thinking about perception." That's a brave thing to do--even to acknowledge she's worthy of the name philosopher considering now many hold her in disdain. Kelley has the academic creds she lacked though--he's taught philosophy and cognitive science at the university level. He's a serious scholar, and this is a serious book on one of the thorniest subjects in philosophy. I'm not claiming parts aren't a slog. But Kelley's not just a lucid thinker but a lucid writer--and I think anyone curious about this subject will find reading this worthwhile. My one caveat is that given this was written in 1986, I wonder if more recent developments in cognitive science might have changed or refined his arguments. no reviews | add a review
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)121.3Philosophy and Psychology Philosophy Of Humanity Epistemology Origin, sources, means of knowledgeLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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