Russell (1961: 638):
The three relations that depend not only on ideas are identity, spatio-temporal relations and causation. In the first two, the mind does not go beyond what is immediately present to the senses. (Spatio-temporal relations, Hume holds, can be perceived, and can form parts of impressions.) Causation alone enables us to infer some thing or occurrence from some other thing or occurrence: ' 'Tis only causation, which produces such a connexion, as to give us assurance from the existence or action of one object, that 'twas followed or preceded by any other existence or action.'
Blogger Comments:
From the perspective of SFL, "what is immediately present to the senses" is experience construed as meaning. Identity, spatio-temporal relations and causation are all meanings within the semantic system. All are mental projections of a Senser sensing, construed from the impact of the environment on the body. Meaning is a property of semiotic systems, not material systems.
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