Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2-
279
Sehutpp.
k-
278
L
:
'
;:
'
:
L
:
I-I
'
tA.r
'
?
;
t
L
LL
:
I;
'T
L
ti
k'
KNOWLEDGE* 0F THEORY
RUSSELL'S BERTRAND ON REMARKS
ERKENNTNIS-THEORIE
BEMERKUNGEN
RUSSELLS BERTRAN1 ZU
J
}..LIt
r
li
itt
1t.ii
L
t14
&L
FiIt
b5#'k-
Pj
Qrt
k
,t!l
L'ILJ
L
ii.
ALBERT EINSTEIN
280
JL
i
L
JL
L'
'
LI
L;
FI.
_l
JJ
;J
J'
JJ
I.
'
'L
.
J
this question.
This more aristocratic illusion concerning the unlimited penetrative power of thought has as its counterpart the more
plebeian illusion ok nave realism, according to which things
"are" as they are perceived by us through our senses. This
illusion dominates the daily life of men and of animals; it is
also the point of departure in all of the sciences, especially of
the natural sciences.
The effort to overcome these two illusions is not independent
the one of the other. The overcominS of nave realism has been
relatively simple. In his introduction to his volume, An Inquiry
Into Meaning and Truth, Russel.l has characterized this process
in a marvellously pregnant fashion:
We all start from "nave realism," i.e., the doctrine that things are what
'F
We all start from "nave realism," i.e., the doctrine that things are
J
PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor
PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor
t:r
t'
-.
t
t
._
ir
t4
Il
t
i_n_
t
,
I
s_
t
t-
II
.-
!:
;
IIIl
tL1b
J
i1
FL!
false. is it therefore
false; is true, if realism, naive
Therefore
false. is realism naive that
shows true, if physics; and physics, to leads
realism Nave will. its
against
subjectivity into plunged itself finds it objectve, be to means most
it
when itself: with war at
to seems
be
science
Thus himself. upon stone
the of effects the observing believed, be to
is physics if really, is stone, a
_rt
EINSTEIN ALBERT
;{
i
r!!
282
r
r1
T;T
284
C
T
'
TT
ALBERT EINSTEIN
rgelieferten
C
TT
::
:T
'
T!
'
t
T
t
T
CT
285
knowledge of
actually proved the impossibility of gaining
rather
upon the fact
reality by means of pure speculation, but
procedure
that the empirical (in the above mentioned sense)
knowledge.
alone has shown its capacity to be the source of
full clarity
principle
with
this
Galileo and Hume first upheld
and decisiveness.
as essential,
Flume saw that concepts which we must regard
gained
from
not be
such as, for example, causal connection, can
to a
material given to us by the senses. This insight led him
If one
sceptical attitude as concerns knowledge of any kind.
sometimes
many
and
that
reads Hume's books, one is amazed
have been able
even highly esteemed philosophers after him
readers
grateful
even find
to write so much obscure stuff and
of
development
for it. Hume has permanently influenced the
him
senses
the best of philosophers who came after him. One
acuanalyses,
whose
philosophical
in the reading of Russell's
reminded me of
men and simplicity of expression have often
Hume.
is
Man has an intense desire for assured knowledge. That
rawsensory
crushing:
The
why Hume's clear message seemed
through habit may
material, the only source of our knowledge,
knowledge and
lead us to belief and expectation but not to the
relations. Then
still less to the understanding of law-abiding
certainly
Kant took the stage with an idea which, though
towards
step
signified
a
it,
untenable in the foim in which he put
is
knowledge
Whatever
in
the solution of Hume's dilemma:
we
therefore,
If,
of empirical origin is never certain (Hume).
must be grounded in
have definitely assured knowledge, it
example, in the
reason itself. This is held to be the case, for
causality.
propositions of geometry and in the principle of
speak, a
to
are,
so
knowledge
These and certain other types of
therefore do not
part of the instrumentality of thinking and
data
(i.e., they are
previously have to be gained from sense
course
that the
knows of
a priori knowledge). Today everyone
of the
mentioned concepts contain nothing of the certainty,
them. The
inherent necessity, which Kant had attributed to
PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor
PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor
(Z*
rrt
--
-fr
r
i'
t.
.
.
t
'
p.
:r
pp
.$_
'-t
tt!
11
4
rt
s(
-
rvention
r
tIt
r_1
rt4tit
ip
tt
Pt
r
-
Yr
lt
g
-;
IP
Ir!}
V
rP'
kl'
!'
r1
l
;F;I
1
p
:L
]
'
'
!J
L1
!r
ji
;
{
ii;
,K
(q?
.-
r?
:!
FLi
'
'
;
lr
(
]T
I
,F
i
"[
':
]I
II
h
'
288
ALBERT EINSTEIN
't
'
,,
'
"
1"
I
t
'
k'
i
I
..
j
.
I
'
'
'
'
:
'
J
.
..
C;
:
"4
1
'
289
i____________________________________________________________________________________________________
___
't'
PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked
evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor
i
..
.,
PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor
/
(s.
t
C
L
'7,
Is
-St
4'
1
ii"
t
II
Ill
'-t
I'
L.
diaprer
9-120,
Naene,." 'Proper
Truth, and Meaniug tito Inquiry An
Russell', Compare s
MAnIEMArIcs
OF
III
oil
Kapkd 9-o, n
PRINcETON
STUDT ADVMcED FOR INSTITUTE THE
EINsTEIN ALBERT
S.
TruM,
arid
Meaning
dli
Scnooi.
Sreor
into inquiry
OF
EINsTEiN ALEERT
Scnoos.
'54
CN
It!
Names." CCProper
Ai' Russelts Vergl.
NCETON Pat
ADVANcED FOR INSTITUTE THE
M&Tnnumcs
r1
l
tilJ
z: