Getting distracted by ideas

The obstaclean theory of matter

Denying the existence of the material world never goes down well. No matter how clever and compelling the arguments, most of us want to insist that matter exists – and as our insistence becomes more vehement, we start pounding tables, as if that will impress our interlocutors.

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One response to “The obstaclean theory of matter”

  1. Jordan Avatar
    Jordan

    I like your name for this. As some commenters on your article have already said, this sounds like Fichte’s view in the Jena versions of the Wissenschaftslehre. But, as you probably already know, this is also basically the view of the external world put forward by the pragmatists William James and F.C.S. Schiller — the world is simply whatever resists my activity (conceptual or practical).

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