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Full Idea
The belief of the existence of anything seems to suppose a notion of existence - a notion too abstract, perhaps, to enter into the mind of an infant.
Gist of Idea
Accepting the existence of anything presupposes the notion of existence
Source
Thomas Reid (Essays on Intellectual Powers 2: Senses [1785], 05)
Book Ref
Reid,Thomas: 'Inquiry and Essays', ed/tr. Beanblossom /K.Lehrer [Hackett 1983], p.165
A Reaction
But even a small infant has to cope with the experience of waking up from a dream. I don't see how existence can be anything other than a primitive concept in any system of ontology.
| 6492 | Reid is seen as the main direct realist of the eighteenth century [Reid, by Robinson,H] |
| 23634 | Accepting the existence of anything presupposes the notion of existence [Reid] |
| 23635 | Truths are self-evident to sensible persons who understand them clearly without prejudice [Reid] |
| 23637 | Primary qualities are the object of mathematics [Reid] |
| 23638 | Secondary qualities conjure up, and are confused with, the sensations which produce them [Reid] |
| 23639 | It is unclear whether a toothache is in the mind or in the tooth, but the word has a single meaning [Reid] |
| 23640 | Only mature minds can distinguish the qualities of a body [Reid] |
| 23641 | People dislike believing without evidence, and try to avoid it [Reid] |
| 23642 | If non-rational evidence reaches us, it is reason which then makes use of it [Reid] |
| 7631 | Sensation is not committed to any external object, but perception is [Reid] |