10 Bertrand Russell, Appearance and Reality
The Problems of Philosophy
Bertrand Russell was one of twentieth century’s leading philosophers, and according to him the problem of ‘appearance and reality’ is a longstanding philosophical problem [predating the invention of photography]. This is a summary of the first chapter of Russell’s book The Problems of Philosophy.
Appearance and Reality
Russell starts by asking the philosophical question ‘. . . is there any knowledge . . . so certain that no reasonable man could doubt it?’ In seeking certainty, we can start with ‘. . . our present experiences, and in some sense . . . knowledge is to be derived from them’ (p. 2). Russell points out that his immediate experiences suggest that he is sitting in ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access