PHILOSOPHY: BERKELEY’S IDEALISM

without the means to perceive the world, would any of it truly exist?

traditionally, we accept that the senses provide us with a mental interpretation of the world— the ability to see, hear, touch, smell and taste confirms everything we think we know exists. this could beg the question of “Well, how do we know that our mental interpretations represent the truth?” george berkeley’s answer? idealism.

it is simple— deny the EXISTENCE of everything with the exception of other minds and the ideas within them. you cannot be skeptical about the external world if there is no external world to be a skeptic of. at the end of the day, the simplest of things still exist— we group our REOCCURRING sensory EXPERIENCES TOGETHER. “apple” is our word for a natural, sweet, red, crunchy snack— but that’s all it is. to believe an apple is anything more is to go beyond the direct evidence of EXPERIENCE. more than that, partaking in self-deceit, buying the idea that sweetness can exist untasted, or that red can EXIST unseen is almost blasphemous.

to disagree would be to claim that something is more— some PHYSICAL groundwork is needed in addition to our senses. that burden of proof, would lie with you.