Critical realism (philosophy of perception)


In the philosophy of perception, critical realism is the theory that some of our sense-data can and do accurately represent external objects, properties, and events, while other of our sense-data do not accurately represent any external objects, properties, and events. Put simply, critical realism highlights a mind-dependent aspect of the world that reaches to understand the mind-independent world.

Locke

According to Locke—following a tradition which can be traced back to the ancient and modern atomism—some sense-data, namely the sense-data of secondary qualities, do not represent anything in the external world, even if they are caused by external qualities. Thus it is natural to adopt a theory of critical realism.
By its talk of sense-data and representation, this theory depends on or presupposes the truth of representationalism. If critical realism is correct, then representationalism would have to be a correct theory of perception.

Descartes

developed the theory that, since we could not definitely prove anything we experienced, the only thing which is sure to exist is our mind. He explains this by stating that in order to experience anything - real or fake - we first have to exist at all. That led to his famous quote "Cogito, ergo sum.".

American critical realism

The American critical realist movement was a response both to direct realism, as well as to idealism and pragmatism. In very broad terms, American critical realism was a form of representative realism, in which there are objects that stand as mediators between independent real objects and perceivers. Prominent developers of American critical realism are Roy Wood Sellars and his son Wilfrid Sellars, and Maurice Mandelbaum.
One innovation was that these mediators are not ideas, but properties, essences, or "character complexes".

British critical realism

Similar developments occurred in the UK. Major figures included Samuel Alexander, John Cook Wilson, H. A. Prichard, H. H. Price, and C. D. Broad.

German critical realism

renewed the interest in the critical realist theory in Germany.