"The relation involved in judging or believing must, if falsehood is to be duly allowed for, be taken to be a relation between several terms, not between two. When Othello believes that Desdemona loves Cassio, he must not have before his mind a single object, 'Desdemona's love for Cassio', or 'that Desdemona loves Cassio', for that would require that there should be objective falsehoods, which subsist independently of any minds; and this, though not logically refutable, is a theory to be avoided if possible. Thus it is easier to account for falsehood if we take judgement to be a relation in which the mind and the various objects concerned all occur severally... This relation, therefore, is a relation of four terms, since Othello also is one of the terms of the relation. ...believing, plainly, is not a relation which Othello has to each of the three terms concerned, but to all of them together... Thus the actual occurrence, at the moment when Othello is entertaining his belief, is that the relation called 'believing' is knitting together into one complex whole the four terms Othello, Desdemona, loving, and Cassio. What is called belief or judgement is nothing but this relation of believing or judging, which relates a mind to several things other than itself. An act of belief or of judgement is the occurrence between certain terms at some particular time, of the relation of believing or judging."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Problems_of_Philosophy
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
The Problems of Philosophy
125 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by The Problems of Philosophy →
Related Quotes
"The painter has to unlearn the habit of thinking that things seem to have the colour which common sense says they 're…"
"It is evident from what we have found, that there is no colour which preeminently appears to be the colour of the tab…"
"The same thing applies to the texture. With the naked eye one can see the grain, but otherwise the table looks smooth…"
"The shape of the table is no better. We are all in the habit of judging as to the 'real' shapes of things, and we do …"
"Similar difficulties arise when we consider the sense of touch. It is true that the table always gives us a sensation…"
"Thus it becomes evident that the real table, if there is one, is not the same as what we immediately experience by si…"
"If we cannot be sure of the independent existence of objects, we cannot be sure of the independent existence of other…"
"It may be that the whole outer world is nothing but a dream, and that we alone exist. This is an uncomfortable possib…"
"Give the name of 'sense-data' to the things that are immediately known in sensation: such things as colours, sounds, …"
"Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man could doubt it? This question, which a…"