The Argument from Illusion
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Entrapment within Subjectivity
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On the other hand, it is often the experience of an illusion that confronts us with our entrapment within subjectivity. And so, illusions are often used as examples to make us aware of how objects of consciousness depend on consciousness and would not exist without it. Several illusions are cited as illustrations to force upon us an awareness that what we perceive depends on our subjective consciousness, and on no other consciousness that we know of. They force upon us the awareness that there is no fundamental distinction between an image and a "real" perceived object, that all that we perceive is an appearance only, that the distinctions we draw in everyday life between what is "real" and what is "illusory" are actually distinctions drawn between different kinds of perception, and that reality, as a thing-in-itself, is beyond all appearances whatsoever, and all perceptions. Some of the specific illustrations of this dependency of perceptions on consciousness that are sometimes cited are as follows: (a) When I press down lightly on my eye-ball the images of what I see are shifted and blurred, but we do not believe that the real objects have actually been moved or altered in any way. This reminds us that what we see is an "image" only and not what exists independently of consciousness. (b) Mirages are interpreted by the mind as being signs of real objects but are only images of objects that do not exist. However, subjectively what one sees when one sees a mirage is similar to what one sees when one sees a "real" object. Both real objects of perception and mirages depend on consciousness for their existence, and we are not directly acquainted with real objects in the sense of "not depending on consciousness". (c) When we dream we sometimes interpret our dream images as images of "real" things. However, a dream image is similar as an experience to a waking image. We interpret dream images as arising in subjective consciousness alone and waking images as impressions forced upon us by an objective world existing independently of consciousness; however, as objects of perception both dream and waking experiences depend on consciousness. (d) When you place both a hot hand and a cold hand in the same luke-warm bowl of water the hot hand feels colder and the cold hand feels hotter. The object itself appears to have contradictory properties of being both hot and cold simultaneously. However, we ignore the contradictory properties of the water, arguing that the real bowl of water has just one temperature but subjectively it is experienced by each hand differently. However, since we only receive the sense impressions of our hands, this reminds us that everything that we see and feel depends on consciousness. All images are images presented to consciousness, and if there were no consciousness to perceive the image, the image would not exist. (e) There are also perceptions that are relative to the position of the viewer. For example, as we walk around a coin resting on a table, the shape of the coin changes. However, we believe that real shape of the coin (which is round) does not change. In conclusion, this second form of the argument from illusion seeks to establish that it self-evidently true that every object presented to consciousness depends on consciousness. We may also call this doctrine, entrapment within subjectivity.
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Contents of
The Argument from Illusion
1 The Problem of Other Consciousnesses
2 Subjective and Objective
3 Berkeley: The Principles of Human Knowledege
4 Esse est Percipi
5 The Argument from Illusion in Descartes and Hume
6 Descartes - Sceptical Arguments - Sense Deception
7 Descartes Dream Scepticism
8 J. L. Austen: Sense and Sensibilia
9 The Argument from Illusion in Berkeley and Hume
10 Entrapment within Subjectivity
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