The thinker George Berkeley contended against the notion of material substance existing. He built his argument from stringing together a series of claims on being and epistemology, and using them to attack belief in matter and dismiss it.
Berkeley begins his argument with an attack on abstract thinking. He claims that generalities do not exist and the qualities of an object cannot exist outside of it. Notions of abstract ideas are made up and mistaken; that they cannot actually be thought off. He equates thought with image and claims that a person cannot imagine an object without its particular qualities. To imagine the object, it would involve thinking of it having particular qualities. Thus, since it cannot be imagined, it cannot be conceived of. He also attacks the backing of abstract ideas by language, by denying the existence of abstract general ideas. This is done by claiming that general ideas mentally stand as signs for all particulars. He also appeals to the ease of thinking of particulars and the mentally difficulty of thinking of abstract ideas. These combine into his claim of them being inconceivable and unnecessary, and he thus denies the basis for abstract thinking.
From this, Berkeley begins his contentions against the existence of material substance. In addition to …show more content…
He claims that the notion of matter offers no additional explanation of things perceived and that people do not have any immediate experience of matter. He attacks the notion of believing in objects existing unperceived, by denying that people can think of things unperceived. To think of one is to think of it as if it were being perceived. Things cannot be thought of without any conceivable qualities. Thus, he rejects the notion of things existing unperceived. He demands that something must be perceived to be regarded as existing and contends that something which is not should be declared as
Berkeley begins his argument with an attack on abstract thinking. He claims that generalities do not exist and the qualities of an object cannot exist outside of it. Notions of abstract ideas are made up and mistaken; that they cannot actually be thought off. He equates thought with image and claims that a person cannot imagine an object without its particular qualities. To imagine the object, it would involve thinking of it having particular qualities. Thus, since it cannot be imagined, it cannot be conceived of. He also attacks the backing of abstract ideas by language, by denying the existence of abstract general ideas. This is done by claiming that general ideas mentally stand as signs for all particulars. He also appeals to the ease of thinking of particulars and the mentally difficulty of thinking of abstract ideas. These combine into his claim of them being inconceivable and unnecessary, and he thus denies the basis for abstract thinking.
From this, Berkeley begins his contentions against the existence of material substance. In addition to …show more content…
He claims that the notion of matter offers no additional explanation of things perceived and that people do not have any immediate experience of matter. He attacks the notion of believing in objects existing unperceived, by denying that people can think of things unperceived. To think of one is to think of it as if it were being perceived. Things cannot be thought of without any conceivable qualities. Thus, he rejects the notion of things existing unperceived. He demands that something must be perceived to be regarded as existing and contends that something which is not should be declared as