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Alciphron; Or, the Minute Philosopher, in Seven Dialogues. [with] an Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision
Alciphron Or the Minute Philosopher in Seven Dialogues an Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision - with Author:George Berkeley General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1732 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: XLVII. I do not neverthelefs fay, I hear Diftance in like manner as I fay that I fee it, the Ideas perceived by Hearing not being fo apt to be confounded with the Ideas of Touch, as thofe of Sight are. So likewife a Man is eafily convinced that Bodies and external Things are not properly the Object of Hearing ; but only Sounds, by the Mediation whereof the Idea of this or that Body, or Diftance is fug- gefted to his Thoughts. But then one is with more Difficulty brought to difcern the Difference there is betwixt the Ideas of Sight and Touch: Though it be certain, a Man no more fees and feels the fame thing, than he hears and feels the fame thing. XLVIII. One Reafon of which feems to be this. It is thought a great Abfur- dity to imagine, that one and the fame thing mould have any more than one Ex- tenfion, and one Figure. But the Exten- fion and Figure of a Body, being let into the Mind two ways, and that indifferently, either by Sight or Touch, it feems to follow that we fee the fame Extenfion and the fame Figure which we feel. XLIX. But if we take a clofe and accurate View of Things, it mufl be ac- know- knowledged that we never fee and feel one and the lame Object. That which is feen is one thing, and that which is felt is another. If the vifible Figure and Extenfion be not the fame with the tangible Figure and Extenfion, we are not to infer that one and the lame thing has divers Exten- fions. The true Confequence is, that the Objects of Sight and Touch are two' diftinct things. It may perhaps require fome Thought rightly to conceive this Diftinction. And the Difficulty feems not a little increaf...« less