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Inverse View
It is not the case that The sun's appearing small is a real relation between the sun, the perceiver, and the viewing conditions—not a purely internal mental state.
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Reasons For
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Reason for
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1.
The property 'appearing small' exists only in conscious experience; no external relation literally possesses smallness independent of perception.
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2.
Distance and angular size are objective, but their *appearance* as 'small' is a quale—a subjective experiential quality that supervenes on mental states.
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3.
Agreement between observers explains the consistency but not why the appearance itself must be a relation rather than a coordinated mental phenomenon.
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Reasons Against
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Reason against
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1.
Apparent size depends on objective physical facts: distance, angular diameter, and lighting conditions that exist independent of any mind.
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2.
Multiple observers in identical conditions report identical size experiences, suggesting a shared external relation rather than private mental states.
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3.
We can measure and predict apparent size mathematically using observer position and object properties, indicating systematic relations, not arbitrary perception.
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