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Philosophy / Unit 2   Philosophy 0069 short lesson, about 20 seconds

The Argument from Illusion

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The idea

The argument from illusion: the senses sometimes deceive—a straight oar looks bent in water—so perception alone cannot guarantee how things are.

In practice

The oar, the mirage, the railway tracks meeting at the horizon: familiar sights, reliably wrong.

Where people slip

Occasional error does not prove global unreliability. The argument opens a question; it does not close one.

Your place on the trail

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