The Meaning of the Terms Existence And Reality

rfectly clear and well recognized distinction between the real and the unreal. But, as a matter of fact, there is, as we have seen, by no means such unanimity of opinion as to what objects shall be called "real" and what "unreal." One philosopher assumes that one set of objects are primarily deserving of the predicate "real," another that the term "real" points to quite another set of objects. In the present chapter we shall deal with the opinion that assumes that the term "real" denotes primarily the objects present to the senses. This is but one out of many meanings the term in question has been given; some have used "real" to mean ideas that are clear and distinct, others to mean that which is in time and space, others to mean that which has power or force, others to mean that which we have on divine authority. But the view of "reality" that we shall deal with in this chapter applies the term to those entities which it is perhaps most frequently used to denote. And since it is in this sense that the term is used most commonly, when we use it so, we are more than usually likely to forget that in other contexts the term has other meanings. "Real" is said primarily to denote sense-data without any reason being stated by the author why this rather than some other meaning is given the word, without the author giving any evidence to show that he is even conscious the word is sometimes used in a different sense. And quite frequently "real" is used to mean sense-data ...