The divergence between the world descriptions provided by physical science and by common sense has led to some of the oldest and most persistent arguments for eliminating ordinary objects. Some (inspired by Eddington) allege that there is a conflict between common sense and physical science, while others (such as Sellars) hold that there is rivalry between the scientific and manifest images, as each purports to offer the true and complete description of the world. This chapter addresses these two claims in turn, arguing that both at bottom rely on the idea that a generic, category-neutral use of “thing” can be made sense of. If, as has been argued in previous chapters, we reject that idea, then neither claims of a conflict nor a rivalry between the two can be sustained.
Keywords: Eddington, Sellars, scientific image, manifest image, common sense