RE: Berkeley's Idealism
March 14, 2012 at 5:13 pm
(This post was last modified: March 14, 2012 at 5:20 pm by Anomalocaris.)
(March 14, 2012 at 5:06 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: The problem is a bit more subtle than your answer suggests. Berkeley’s Idealism claims that all knowledge reduces to perceived phenomena. You cannot deny that perception happens.
I don't deny it. Denial would be an assertion requiring evidence, or at least a unique falsifiable prediction, to be worth making.
(March 14, 2012 at 5:06 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: But you can reasonably deny that a physical reality (or deity for that "matter") is necessary to support perception.
Based on what? The only evidence - perception, argues otherwise. Assertion to the contrary of evidence, and also devoid of falsifiable predictions, hasn't any claim to being "reasonable". No worthwhile reasoning either lead to it, or can flow from it.
(March 14, 2012 at 5:06 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: Berkeley’s Idealism says, “Prove that physical matter exists,” and “Give me evidence of any reality other than perceived phenomena.”
To the maximum degree of evidence allowable within perception, no evidence for its non-existence is found.


