Class 12 Logic & Philosophy Chapter 5 Realism: Simple (Naive) and Scientific
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Selected Questions & Answers
A. Very Short Answer Questions: (Marks for each – 1)
1. Who is the propounder of Scientific (Philosophical) Realism?
Ans: John Locke.
2. According to Scientific Realism, are the qualities of objectsdependent on the individual?
Ans: No.
3. “Strong Realism cannot explain illusory knowledge.” Is thestatement true?
Ans: True.
4. According to Naive Realism, what is the relation between theknower and the known? H. S. ’16, ’20
Ans: External.
5. According to Naive Realism, the object of knowledge ———qualities — exists independently in the external world. (Fill in the blank)
Ans: Qualities.
6. What is Primary Quality? Or, Define Primary Quality. H. S. ’15, 17, 20
Ans: Those qualities which are independent of the mind, that is, not dependent on the mind of the knower, are called Primary Qualities. For example: shape and weight of an object.
7. What is Secondary Quality?
Ans: Those qualities which are not independent of the mind, that is, dependent on the mind of the knower, are called Secondary Qualities.
8. Who propounded the doctrine of “Pre-established Harmony”? H. S. ’16
Ans: Philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.
9. Who is called the Father of Modern Philosophy? H. S. ’16
Ans: Rene Descartes.
10. What is Realism? H. S. ’16
Ans: Realism is a theory regarding the object of knowledge which holdsthat the object of knowledge has an independent existence.
11. Give one example of a Secondary Quality. H. S. ’18
Ans: Taste.
12. Write the intellectual condition of observation. H. S. ’18
Ans: The desire or inquisitiveness that arises in the mind to know thecause or explanation of a problem or subject is the intellectual condition ofobservation.
13. What is the name of the doctrine which holds that the external world can be known directly? H. S. ’19
Ans: The doctrine which holds that the external world can be known directly is called Strong Realism.
B. Short Question–Answers: (Marks for each – 2)
1. Who first used the term “Naive (Simple) Realism” and where?
Ans: The term “Naive (Simple) Realism” was first used by the philosopher Durant Drake in his book Invitation to Philosophy.
2. How many main divisions of Realism are there and what arethey?
Ans: The main divisions of Realism are four, namely—
(a) Strong Realism
(b) Scientific Realism
(c) New Realism
(d) New Critical Realism.
3. Mention three differences between Realism and Idealism. H. S. ’12, ’16
Ans: The differences between Realism and Idealism are—
(a) Realism accepts the existence of a world which exists independentlyof the mind. But Idealism does not accept the existence of a world independent of the mind.
(b) In Realism, the object (known) has primacy over the subject (knower).
But in Idealism, the subject (knower) has primacy over the object (known).
(c) Realists regard the laws of nature as ultimate, but Idealists do not.
C. Medium Length Question–Answers: (Marks for each – 4)
1. Write the differences between Primary Qualities and Secondary Qualities. H. S. ’16, ’20
Ans: The propounders of Scientific Realism admit two kinds of qualitiesof an object—Primary Qualities and Secondary Qualities. The differences between them are as follows:
(1) Primary qualities are not dependent on the mind of the knower. Theyare objective properties of the object. On the other hand, secondary qualitiesare dependent on the mind of the knower.
(2) Primary qualities are unchangeable and objective properties of theobject. On the other hand, secondary qualities are changeable. They varyaccording to place, time, and perceiver.
(3) The relation between primary qualities and the object is one ofresemblance. On the other hand, the relation between secondary qualities andthe object is not one of resemblance.
(4) The experience of primary qualities is the same for all. But theexperience of secondary qualities varies from person to person.
2. What is Realism? Write any two differences between Realismand Scientific Realism. H. S. ’14, ’15
Ans: Realism is a theory regarding the object of knowledge which holdsthat the object of knowledge has an independent existence. The differences between Realism and Scientific Realism are—
(a) In Realism, the object has primacy over the subject. But in ScientificRealism, this primacy is not admitted.
(b) Realists consider knowledge to be a direct process. But according toScientific Realism, knowledge is an indirect process.
3. According to which theory is the external world known exactlyas it is through direct perception? Mention two reasons why this theoryis not acceptable. H. S. ’18
Ans: According to Naive Realism, the external world is known exactly asit is.
But this theory is not acceptable because—
(a) It cannot explain dreams and illusions.
(b) It denies the subjective element of knowledge.
4. Write the name of the theory which holds that the real nature ofthe external world can be known directly. Define the theory and mentionone important defect of it. H. S. ’17
Ans: The name of the theory which holds that the real nature of the external world can be known directly is Strong Realism. According to this doctrine, the independent existence of objects is admitted and it is claimed that objectscan be known directly through the senses. Strong Realism is also called Naive Realism. One important defect of Naive Realism is that it cannot explain illusion and dreams.
5. Do you support Naive Realism? Give arguments in support ofyour view. H. S. ’19
Ans: According to the doctrine which admits the independent existenceof objects and claims that objects can be known directly through the senses, it is called Strong or Naive Realism.
We cannot support Naive Realism because—
(1) It fails to explain our practical relation with the external worldsatisfactorily.
(2) It cannot explain illusion and dreams.
(3) It cannot explain the universality of knowledge, because knowledgeof the same object is found to vary from person to person.
5. Write one Primary and one Secondary quality of an object. H. S. ’19
Ans: The primary quality of an object is weight and the secondary qualityis colour.
D. Essay Type Question–Answers: (Marks for each – 6)
1. What is Strong Realism? Discuss its characteristics. H. S. ’20
Ans: The doctrine which admits the independent existence of objects andclaims that objects can be known directly through the senses is called StrongRealism or Naive Realism. In other words, according to Naive Realism, the real nature of an object is exactly as it is perceived by the knower. According to this doctrine, all objects of the world are mind-independent. The maincharacteristics of Naive Realism are:
(1) The object of knowledge is independent of the mind of the knower.
(2) Naive Realism accepts the existence of an external world as commonpeople do.
(3) According to Naive Realism, knowledge of the world is direct and itssource is experience or sense-perception.
(4) According to this doctrine, the world or objects exist whether they areperceived or not. The existence of an object does not depend upon beingknown.
(5) External objects produce sensations in our mind, and these sensationsare the same for all.
(6) According to Naive Realism, knowledge of the external world isobtained through its qualities.
(7) According to this doctrine, the way an object is perceived is its true nature.
2. Explain one criticism of Naive (Simple) Realism. H. S. ’14, ’16, ’18, ’20
Ans: The doctrine which admits the independent existence of objects andclaims that they can be known directly through the senses is called Strong orNaive Realism. According to it, the real nature of an object is exactly as it appears to the knower, and all objects are mind-independent.
Naive Realism may be criticised as follows:
(1) It fails to explain our practical relation with the external world.
(2) It cannot explain illusion and dreams.
(3) It cannot explain the universality of knowledge, because knowledgeof the same object varies from person to person.
(4) It admits the mind-independent existence of all objects of the world,
but some objects of knowledge also exist as mental concepts.
3. What is Scientific Realism? Discuss its characteristics. H. S. ’15, ’18, ’19, ’20
Ans: The doctrine which admits the external existence of objects and alsoaccepts the distinction between primary and secondary qualities is calledScientific Realism. Philosopher John Locke is the propounder of Scientific Realism. Besides him, René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza also accepted thisdoctrine.
The main characteristics of Scientific Realism are:
(1) The object of knowledge is independent of the mind of the knower.
(2) External objects are known through their qualities. The primary qualities are independent of the mind, while secondary qualities may vary according to place, time, and person.
(3) According to this view, we do not perceive the object itself but only itscopy or representation.
(4) Knowledge is a completely independent process and does not affect the real nature of the object.
(5) According to Scientific Realism, knowledge is an indirect process; therefore, the knower does not know the external object directly.
4. What is Scientific Realism? Give a critical explanation of it. H. S. ’14, ’16
Ans: The doctrine which admits the external existence of objects andalso accepts the distinction between primary and secondary qualities is calledScientific Realism. According to this doctrine, we do not know the object itself but only its exact idea or copy. An object is known only through itsqualities, which are of two kinds—primary and secondary. Primary qualitiesare unchangeable, real, and objective properties of the object. On the otherhand, secondary qualities are changeable, mind-dependent, and subjective. John Locke is the propounder of Scientific Realism. Besides him, Rene Descartes and Baruch Spinoza also accepted this doctrine.
Scientific Realism may be criticised as follows:
(1) It imposes limitations on knowledge of objects, because it holds that knowledge of the external world itself is not possible directly.
(2) It cannot explain the truth and falsity of knowledge adequately. According to Locke, if there is resemblance between the idea of the knower and the external object, knowledge is true; if there is no resemblance, it isfalse.
(3) The distinction between primary and secondary qualities is not logically sound, because just as secondary qualities depend on the mind, Primary qualities also depend on the mind in some respect.
(4) Locke’s Scientific Realism shows a tendency toward Idealism, because the effects of secondary qualities vary from person to person. Although Locke’s Scientific Realism has been criticised in various ways, it has been able to remove some defects of Strong Realism.
5. Explain the Law of Uniformity of Nature. Why is it called theformal ground of induction? H. S. ’18
Ans: The main objective of induction is to establish a universal relationfrom the knowledge of particular relations. To establish such universal propositions, induction depends on the Law of Uniformity of Nature and theLaw of Causation.
According to the Law of Uniformity of Nature, nature always behaves inthe same way under the same conditions. This law is expressed in variousways. It assumes that the laws of nature in the future will be like those of thepast. What is true of the known is also true of the unknown. Nature neverviolates its own laws. However, this law does not imply that nature never changes; it only implies that under identical conditions, nature behaves uniformly.
Different objects of nature operate under different laws. The laws that apply to plants and animals do not necessarily apply to planets and stars. Nature is essentially a system of many laws. Though countless laws operatein nature, they are not isolated; there is an overall harmony among them. On the basis of the Law of Uniformity of Nature, universal propositions areestablished. Therefore, to arrive at general propositions, induction observesparticular instances of nature. In other words, by depending on the Law ofUniformity of Nature and observing particular cases, induction reaches a general conclusion. Hence, the Law of Uniformity of Nature is called the formal ground ofinduction.
