👁️ Representationalism §

= a theory about what it is that we are aware of when we cognize something using our senses¹

Definition ¹ §

The theory that in sense perception, the intentional object is not an external object but a representation

• Intentional object: that, of which one is directly aware when having a sensory experience
• External object: a physical object, which exists outside the mind
• Representation: a mental image that is caused by contact between a sense faculty and an external object, and that resembles the external object

Arguments §

• 📶 Time-Lag argument

Implications §

• We are, only indirectly (through the representation in our mind), aware of the external object
  • The representation might differ from the real external object

Footnotes §

1. Siderits M. Buddhism as Philosophy. Second edition. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc; 2021. ↩ ↩²