Methodical Realism - Etienne Gilson

[tbieter]

" 23. When we say that all knowledge consists in grasping the thing as it is, we are by no means saying that the intellect infallibly so grasps it, but that only when it does grasp it as it is will there be knowledge. Still less do we mean that knowledge exhausts the content of its object in a single act. What knowledge grasps in the object is something real, but reality is inexhaustible, and even if the intellect had discerned all its details, it would still be confronted by the mystery of its very existence. The person who believed he could grasp the whole of reality infallibly and at one fell swoop was the idealist Descartes. Pascal, the realist, clearly recognized how naive was the claim of philosophers that they could "comprehend the principles of things, and from there -- with a presumption as infinite as their object -- go on to knowing everything". The virtue proper to the realist is modesty about his knowledge, and even if he does not practice it, he is committed to it by his calling." pp. 102-103, Methodical Realism, Gilson, Etienne
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After reflecting on the above text by Gilson, does your mode of thought tend to be idealist or realist?

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