Reading: Bertrand Russell (2014), "On the knowledge of universals" - Chapter 10 of "The Problem of Philosophy"
Russelll characterizes the knowledge of universals as:
- empirical knowledge of universals
- relations between universals (universals relating other universals)
- a priori knowledge
empirical knowledge / posteriori knowledge = knowledge gained by experience of the world around us — informed by sensory experience
Main points from the reading
Knowledge of universals by acquaintance = Abstraction
Russelll’s view is that we know at least some universals empirically = acquaintance
… universals, like particulars may be divided into those known by acquaintance, those known only by description, and those not known either by acquaintance or description.
By accepting the existence of universals, a puzzle emerges = if universals are not percieved by the senses (according to Russell), then how can our knowledge of universals be empirical?
For universals known by acquaintance (qualities that are examplified to the senses like black, white, loud, sweet, etc.), Russell explains that our sensory experience acquaints us with individual white patches; we do not sense the universal whiteness. For Russell, to be acquainted with the universal, we must engage in the process of abstraction
Abstraction = the mental process by which we come to recognize common characteristics among particulars
So, Russell is proposing that sensation gives us acquaintance to particulars that exhibit certain qualities. The process of abstraction allows us to notice common qualities to various particulars and abstract them into concepts i.e. universals. These universals are called sensible qualities.
Describing the abstraction of relations among particulars:
- to the left of = when looking at a page of writing, one senses successively a number of words in which one is to the left of another. All these words have that relation in common, and the universal relation “to the left of” can be abstracted
- before and after in time = when experiencing two events that happen in succession (A then B), we sense two separate events and notice that one came before the other. from this, the universal relation of “before” and “after” can be abstracted.
- relaton of resemblance = by seeing two green patches, we notice they resmeble one another, especialy compared to say a red patch, and so we can abstract the universal of “resemblance”
Relations among universals
For example, “Grey is darker than white” where the relation “darker than” is between two universals.
In Russell’s example:
“The resemblance between two shades of green is greater than the resemblance between a shade of green and a shade of red.”
where the relation “greater than” is between two relations. We can say that a relation is asserted between two lower level relations
This notion of relation among universals is used by Russell to explain a priori knowledge
a priori knowledge
Characteristics:
- not based on empirical experience
- involves necessary truths
- frequently involves generality
a priori knowledge seems to “anticipate and control experience”. This forms the questions: how can any form of knowledge anticipate experience? how can there be non-empirical knowledge?
Russell asserts the thesis:
“All a priori knowledge deals exclusively with the relations of universals”
Consider the following a priori truth: “two and two are four”. Russell explains this by asking what words must we understand (i.e. be acquainted with) in order to know that two and two is four. In Russell’s words:
“…even when we interpret it as meaning ‘any collection formed of two twos is a collection of four’, it is plain that we can understand the proposition, i.e. we can see what it asserts, as soon as we know what is meant by ‘collection’, ‘two’ and ‘four’.”
“collection”, “two” and “four” all refer to universals and we know the truth of the proposition 2+2 = 4 by grasping the relation among these universals, as Russell puts it:
Thus the statement ‘two and two are four ’ deals exclusively with uiversals, and therefore maybe known by anybody who is acquainted with the universals concerned and can perceive the relation between them which the statement asserts .