The adage “appearances deceive” is as old as Philosophy itself. Since the era of the ancient Greeks, Humankind has sought to understand the world and its place within it by using the tenets of reason.
The modern age can be characterized by the two major strands of thought that have permeated it. These two schools of thinking are called Rationalism and Empiricism. Since the Renaissance, each of these two ideologies have been represented by four major Philosophers.
The Empiricist thinkers were:
- Thomas Hobbes
- John Locke
- George Berkeley
- David Hume
The Rationalist thinkers were:
- Rene Descartes
- Baruch Spinoza
- Gottfried Leibniz
- Immanuel Kant
It is interesting to note that the Empiricist writers were from the British Isles, whereas Rationalism was essentially a continental European movement. Post-Kantian philosophy essentially evolved into a diaspora of sub-specialties.
A false dichotomy in the Western Philosophical tradition is Materialism versus Idealism. The consummate Materialist was Thomas Hobbes, while Bishop George Berkeley was a strict Idealist. Metaphysical Idealism holds that material objects are illusory.
When asked what he thought about the theory that material objects don’t exist, the famous skeptic said “I refute it thus” and forcefully kicked a rock with his foot. That was a pretty good disproof of Idealism. How can something that does not exist possess the attributes of rigidity and solidity?
All of the Philosophers mentioned above lived before the advent of Modern Physics; i.e.. the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Relativity Theory states that: “Time and Space are relative to the Conscious Observer.” If this is true, then the Metaphysical hypothesis of Materialism is no longer tenable.
Perhaps the problem can be solved by asserting that Material Objects do exist, yet their true nature is very different than how they appear to a Conscious Observer. This idea was theorized by John Locke to be the distinction between Primary Qualities and Secondary Qualities. Immanuel Kant likewise differentiated between the Noumenon (things as they exist in themselves) and Phenomena (things as they appear to a Conscious Observer).
The Primary Qualities of Locke (Noumenon) are constituted by Mass (measured in Grams), and Position within a three dimensional Space. Examples of Secondary Qualities (Phenomena) are color, taste, and how a noise is heard by the human ear. These stipulations were formulated during the reign of the Classical Physics of Isaac Newton.
The word “schizophrenia” etymologically is derived from the two ancient Greek words meaning “split-mind.” The schizophrenia that emerged from post-renaissance Western Civilization was transposed onto the material science of Physics. Quantum Mechanics is so obviously an extension of Empiricist thought; while the General Theory of Relativity is equally obviously a manifestation of modern European Rationalism. The notions of physicists can no longer ignore their ancestors in Philosophy.