Bertrand Russell's "Appearance and Reality"

Bertrand Russell “Appearance and Reality” (Olivia)

Betrand Russell is a philosopher who explores the concepts of ‘appearance’ and ‘reality’. According to Russell’s beliefs we can define ‘appearance’ as an interpretation of a person or object, using the five senses, tainted with one’s unique perception to the world. While the definition of ‘reality’ is more open-ended as we each create our own. As Russell states in The Canon and its Critics; “ In daily life, we assume as certain many things, which on a closer scrutiny, are found to be so full of apparent contradictions that only a great amount of thought enables us to know what it is that we really may believe” (11). This statement encourages us to look beyond just the typical appearance of something in order to understand its reality.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of this argument, we can examine the left and right sides of the brain. Those with a more dominant left-side of the brain tend to be more analytical and logical. Therefore, one might also be drawn to the sciences and math. Upon examining the harkness table, in class as Russell does in his work. We found that while some students felt that in order to prove the reality that is the harkness table, you first must explain where the table came from and its composition. So the focus shifted away from appearance. However, people like myself, who have a more dominant right-side of the brain are said to be more subjective and drawn towards the arts. I would explain the realities of the harkness table by describing the color, texture, and sound. While at the same time acknowledging that there will be some variance as no two minds are a like.

Overall, I am really intrigued by Russell’s ideologies. We can modernly apply Russell’s way of thinking to strangers. At The Oxbow School Semester Program, for a final project a peer of mine created a project on strangers. She projected found-footage onto white molded figures, which were blank like a canvas. This is often what humans do to others. We project our thoughts, beliefs, and past experience onto strangers according to their appearance in order to create our own reality around it. Our realities are not always accurate. Oftentimes, you find that someone who may appear frightening can be very nice. By talking to a stranger, you can diminish some of your own subjective realities and factor in your new discoveries in order to create a joint reality that pleases both parties.

Here, is a link to my peers work: http://oxbowschool.org/gallery/index.html   (in case the link doesn’t work, her name is Phoebe). http://oxbowschool.org/gallery/index.html

Works Cited: Furman, Todd M., and Mitchell Avila. The Canon and Its Critics: A Multi-perspective Introduction to Philosophy. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Pub., 2000. Print.