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Philosophy Ebooks Bertrand Russell - The Problems of Philosophy
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Bertrand Russell - The Problems of Philosophy |
CONTENTS
I APPEARANCE AND REALITY
II THE EXISTENCE OR MATTER
III THE NATURE OF MATTER
IV IDEALISM
V KNOWLEDGE BY ACQUAINTANCE AND KNOWLEDGE BY DESCRIPTION
VI ON INDUCTION
VII ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES
VIII HOW A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE IS POSSIBLE
IX THE WORLD OF UNIVERSALS
X ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF UNIVERSALS
XI ON INTUITIVE KNOWLEDGE
XII TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD
XIII KNOWLEDGE, ERROR, AND PROBABLE OPINION
XIV THE LIMITS OF PHILOSOPHICAL KNOWLEDGE
XV THE VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
INDEX
Sample Excerpt:
CHAPTER I
APPEARANCE AND REALITY
IS there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man could
doubt it? This question, which at first sight might not seem difficult, is really one of the
most difficult that can be asked. When we have realized the obstacles in the way of a
straightforward and confident answer, we shall be well launched on the study of
philosophy -- for philosophy is merely the attempt to answer such ultimate questions, not
carelessly and dogmatically, as we do in ordinary life and even in the sciences, but
critically after exploring all that makes such questions puzzling, and after realizing all the
vagueness and confusion that underlie our ordinary ideas.
In daily life, we assume as certain many things which, on a closer scrutiny, are found to
be so full of apparent contradictions that only a great amount of thought enables us to
know what it is that we really may believe. In the search for certainty, it is natural to
begin with our present experiences, and in some sense, no doubt, knowledge is to be
derived from them. But any statement as to what it is that our immediate experiences
make us know is very likely to be wrong. It seems to me that I am now sitting in a chair,
at a table of a certain shape, on which I see sheets of paper with writing or print. By
turning my head I see out of the window buildings and clouds and the sun. I believe that
the sun is about ninety-three million miles from the earth; that it is a hot globe many
times bigger than the earth; that, owing to the earth's rotation, it rises every morning, and
will continue to do so for an indefinite time in the future. I believe that, if any other
normal person comes into my room, he will see the same chairs and tables and books and
papers as I see, and that the table which I see is the same as the table which I feel
pressing against my arm. All this seems to be so evident as to be hardly worth stating,
except in answer to a man who doubts whether I know anything. Yet all this may be
reasonably doubted, and all of it requires much careful discussion before we can be sure
that we have stated it in a form that is wholly true.
[Continued]
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| Format: | PDF
| Allows Print: | YES |
| FileSize: | 255Kb | | |
| Pages: | 86 | | |
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