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    Made withinDC&Austin
    One cannot conceive of anything existing unconceived. — Carmelics
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Skepticism
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    One cannot conceive of anything existing unconceived.

    PerceptionSkepticism
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.In attempting to conceive of an object existing unconceived, one is still conceiving of that object.
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    • 2.The act of conceiving necessarily makes the object conceived a content of mind.
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    • 3.Therefore, the supposition of an unconceived existent is self-undermining whenever one attempts to entertain it.
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.The inability to conceive of X without conceiving it is a feature of the conceiving act, not evidence of X's mind-dependence.
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    • 2.Bertrand Russell's distinction between knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description shows objects can be referred to without being directly conceived.
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    • 3.An unconceived tree falling in a forest is described, not conceived — description does not collapse into idealist conception.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.G.E. Moore's 'Here is a hand' argument establishes that certainty about external objects exceeds certainty about idealist premises derived from introspection.
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    • 2.The performative self-refutation Berkeley identifies applies equally to Berkeley's own claims about minds perceiving — the argument proves too much and collapses into solipsism without independent grounding.
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    Topics

    SkepticismPerception

    Connections

    1 topic

    Consciousness & Mind2 linked

    Related

    An unconceived tree falling in a forest is described, not conceived — descriptio...Bertrand Russell's distinction between knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge b...G.E. Moore's 'Here is a hand' argument establishes that certainty about external...In attempting to conceive of an object existing unconceived, one is still concei...
    +4 moreShow less
    The act of conceiving necessarily makes the object conceived a content of mind.The inability to conceive of X without conceiving it is a feature of the conceiv...The performative self-refutation Berkeley identifies applies equally to Berkeley...Therefore, the supposition of an unconceived existent is self-undermining whenev...

    Similar

    In attempting to conceive of an object existing unconceived, one is st...86%We cannot even conceive of non-mental objects83%If existence is restricted to what is perceived, then unperceived exis...81%The concept of something that exists but is unperceived is a contradic...79%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: idealism
    View source passageHide passage
    From these stipulations he derives his most fundamental and famous claim (1) that “the existence of an idea consists in being perceived” (1710: Part I, §2) or that “their esse is percipi” (1710: Part I, §3) by the perceiving, active mind. Already here Berkeley has the means in place to cast into doubt the meaningfulness of the assumption that there might exist unperceived objects or things. This is due to his restriction of existence to what is perceivable or, even narrower, to what is perceived
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit