Tim Maudlin and Michael Della Rocca go head to head over what makes up reality. Should we rely on common sense or metaphysics?

This excerpt is taken from the debate 'Fragments of reality,' from the HowTheLightGetsIn festival that took place in London in September of 2023.

Watch the full debate at https://iai.tv/video/fragments-and-re...

From the sea to the sky, from tables to chairs, light to dark, before to after, we see the world as differentiated into countless bits, qualities, and relations. But from the outset of Western thought, some have maintained this is a dangerous illusion. One of the first philosophers, Parmenides, claimed 'what exists is whole and unchanging, one and continuous'; while today there are sociologists and linguists, neuroscientists and philosophers who argue that the distinctions we make are a function not of reality but of language.

Do we need to give up the idea that the world is differentiated and take Parmenides and Spinoza's idea that the world is one seriously? Should we see differences and distinctions as a product of language and the human mind? Would this make us more open to different ways of seeing the world or fatally undermine knowledge and our ability to communicate?

#CommonSense #Metaphysics #Reality

Tim Maudlin is professor of philosophy at New York University and a world-leader in the field of philosophy of physics. He is the author of the recently published Philosophy of Physics: Quantum Theory and made his name studying the mysterious behaviour of entangled quantum particles. Maudlin warns that we should be wary of physical theories that contradict our direct impression of reality, especially when it comes to the nature of time.

Michael Della Rocca is Sterling Professor of Philosophy at Yale University where he has taught since 1991. He is the author of Representation and the Mind-Body Problem in Spinoza, Spinoza, The Parmenidean Ascent, and of numerous articles in contemporary metaphysics and early modern philosophy.

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