Irrealism (philosophy)

Irrealism is a philosophical position first advanced by Nelson Goodman in "Ways of Worldmaking", [(Goodman 1978)] encompassing epistemology, metaphysics and aesthetics.

Nelson Goodman's irrealism

Irrealism was initially motivated by the debate between phenomenalism and physicalism in epistemology. [(Goodman 1951)] Rather than viewing either as prior to the other, Goodman described them both as alternative "world-versions", both useful in some circumstances, but neither capable of capturing the other in an entirely satisfactory way, a point he emphasizes with examples from psychology. [(Goodman 1978 : Ch. V)] He goes on to extend this epistemic pluralism to all areas of knowledge, from equivalent formal systems in mathematics (sometimes it is useful to think of points as primitives, sometimes it is more useful to consider lines the primitive) to alternative schools of art (for some paintings thinking in terms of representational accuracy is the most useful way of considering them, for others it is not). However, in line with his consideration of phenomenalism and physicalism, Goodman goes beyond saying merely that these are "world-versions" of "the" world, instead he describes worlds as "made by making such versions". [(Goodman 1978 94)]

Other Irrealists

Artist Tristan Tondino, has had several exhibitions entitled "Irreality" which crossover into other fields and include philosophy, mathematics, ophthalmology, science and politics. "Realism is an Irrealism. Reality is plurality - we partially create it, we must open our universes and our perceptions to all new versions that may promote the concept of human rights and expand its possibilities. [Anne Émile Brisson, Plurielle Ouverture, AGIR, Amnestie Internationale, vol 25, #3, septembre 2004] In a painting depicting a chair and entitled "The Hegemony of the Real", Tondino has written "That the Real must be regarded as a fiction does not detract from its hegemony".

Other Forms of Irrealism

The philosophical term may be used in more specific or arguably narrower senses, such as "colour irrealism". [http://fortytwo.ucsc.edu/~jellis/Papers/Color.pdf]

See also

* Anti-realism
* Philosophical realism
* Realism

External links

* [http://www.philosophy.ru/library/goodman/starmaking.htm "On Star-Making"] by Nelson Goodman.

Footnotes

References

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