Realism and Appearances: An Essay in Ontology

172 Pages·2000·0.55 MB·English

by  John W. Yolton

REALISM AND
APPEARANCES:
An essay in ontology
JOHN W. YOLTON
Cambridge University Press
REALISM AND APPEARANCES
An essay in ontology
This book addresses one of the fundamental topics in philosophy:
the relation between appearance and reality.John W.Yolton draws
on a rich combination of historical and contemporary material,
ranging from the early modern period to present-day debates, to
examine this central philosophical preoccupation, which he pre-
sents in terms of distinctions between phenomena and causes,
causes and meaning, and persons and man. He explores in detail
how Locke,Berkeley and Hume talk of appearances and their rela-
tion to reality,and oVers illuminating connections and comparisons
with the work of contemporary philosophers such as Paul
Churchland and John McDowell.He concludes by oVering his own
proposal for a “realism of appearance,” which incorporates ele-
ments of both Humean and Kantian thinking.His important study
will be of interest to a wide range of readers in the history of phi-
losophy, the history of ideas, and contemporary philosophy of
mind,epistemology and metaphysics.
john w. yolton is Professor Emeritus at the Department of
Philosophy,Rutgers University.He is the author of many publica-
tions on John Locke and on the history of philosophy more gener-
ally,most recently Perception and Reality:A History from Descartes to Kant
(Cornell University Press,1996).
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REALISM AND
APPEARANCES
An essay in ontology
JOHN W. YOLTON
Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University
PUBLISHED BY CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS (VIRTUAL PUBLISHING)
FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 IRP
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia

http://www.cambridge.org

© John W. Yolton 2000
This edition © John W. Yolton 2003

First published in printed format 2000

A catalogue record for the original printed book is available
from the British Library and from the Library of Congress
Original ISBN 0 521 77227 3 hardback
Original ISBN 0 521 77660 0 paperback

ISBN 0 511 01040 0 virtual (netLibrary Edition)
For Jean
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We shall have hereafter to enquire into the nature of appearance,but for the
present we may keep a fast hold on this,the appearances exist.This is absolutely
certain,and to deny it is nonsense.And what exists must belong to reality.
F.H.Bradley,Appearance and Reality:A Metaphysical Essay,pp.131–2
’Tis certain,that almost all mankind,and even philosophers themselves,for the
greatest part of their lives,take their perceptions to be their only objects,and
suppose,that the very being,which is intimately present to the mind,is the real
body or material existence. Hume,A Treatise of Human Nature,p.206
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Contents
Preface pagexi
Introduction 1
1 Mind,matter and sense qualia 9
2 Causing and signifying 26
3 Actions and persons 42
4 Locke on the knowledge of things themselves 57
5 The notions of Berkeley’s philosophy 77
6 Hume’s “appearances”and his vocabulary of awareness 99
7 Hume’s ontology 112
Conclusion:The realism of appearances 133
Bibliography 146
Index 151
ix