Knowledge requires mental reflection on existence rather than passive sensory impressions
Evidence
The mind contemplates some things through its own instrumentality, others through the bodily faculties. … It follows that we cannot know things through the senses alone, since through the senses alone we cannot know that things exist. Therefore knowledge consists in reflection, not in impressions, and perception is not knowledge, because it ‘has no part in apprehending truth, since it has none in apprehending existence’. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 693
Categorization
- XREF: XREF — connects to: Plato argues that real knowledge derives from concepts rather than sensory perception — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 674; Creative thought requires an initial silence that clears prior mental assumptions — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 453; Total sensory absence can feel generative rather than merely frightening — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 496 (+30 more)
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 693
Broader Connections
- Creative thought requires an initial silence that clears prior mental assumptions
#corroborates(0.70) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 453 - The idea of an absolute silence functions as a necessary reset point for thought
#corroborates(0.60) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 531 - Mathematical certainty led philosophers to suppose thought is superior to sense
#corroborates(0.60) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 203 - Total sensory absence can feel generative rather than merely frightening
#qualifies(0.40) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 496