Neutral Monism
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Is the whole a composite of its parts?
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The existence of atoms of perception (sense data) can be questioned. When we say that sense data exist, we are also claiming that all objects of perception are made up of sense data. A large object (we call it a macro-object) is made of small atoms of perception. For example, my perception of a book will be made of all the individual small sense-data that together comprise the book. What this effectively says is that the whole book is the sum total of the parts of the book. The whole is a composite of the parts. Kant disagrees with this doctrine, and argues that we see whole objects first and then abstract to the existence of its parts. In other words, the whole object is not the sum total of the parts. He uses the term totum (Latin for whole) to denote the perception of a whole object. He argues that all objects are given in relation to a larger space that envelopes it, and that without the perception of the whole of space, the perception of a part would not be possible. This takes us into the philosophy of space and time as well. There is an obvious reply to Hume's argument about stepping back from the bulls-eye. This is, why should we regard a single step backwards as representing the threshold between seeing the bulls-eye and not seeing it? Why not half a step, or half of half a step? In other words, there could be a continuous movement backwards, and if this is the case, then the bulls-eye will not be visible at one moment and invisible the next, it will simply fade gradually and continuously out of consciousness.
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Contents of
Neutral Monism
1 Sense data, atoms of perception
2 Hume, sense-data, sense impressions and atoms of experience
3 Entrapment within subjectivity, ideas
4 Neutral monism, realism, Russell, A.J. Ayer, Qualia
5 Is the whole a composite of its parts?
6 Space, time, continuity and atomism
7 Phenomenalism
8 The philosophy of logical atomism
9 Logical atomism, complex sentences and intensional contexts
10 Human identity in the context of naive realism
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