Getting in Contact with Reality
Philosopher Hubert Dreyfus contrasts differing views of reality and how we encounter it, as expressed by Martin Heidegger and Jean Paul-Sartre. He points out that where Heidegger sees meaning--as in objects in the environment--Sartre sees meaningles...
The Realism vs. Anti-Realism Debate (Part 2)
Philosopher John Searle talks about the anti-realist view that we never actually perceive the real world and instead only perceive our own perceptions of that world. Professor Searle argues that this is incorrect, that we do, in fact, have direct pe...
The Realism vs. Anti-Realism Debate (Part 1)
Philosopher John Searle talks about what he calls a persistent error among western philosophers since the Greeks--namely, the notion that the external world is not real in and of itself, but instead is dependent on human minds and human consciousnes...