Direct Realism vs. Indirect Realism

Direct Realism and Indirect Realism are philosophical views about how we perceive the world. Direct Realism holds that we perceive objects directly as they are, meaning our senses give us immediate access to the external world without intermediary processes. In contrast, Indirect Realism argues that we don’t perceive objects directly; instead, we perceive mental representations or sense-data created by our sensory experiences, and only infer the existence of external objects behind these representations. Essentially, the former sees perception as direct contact with reality, while the latter views perception as mediated through perceptions or mental images.