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Full Idea
If any man could be found so frantic as to deny that he thinks, while he is conscious of it, I may wonder, I may laugh, or I may pity him, but I cannot reason the matter with him.
Gist of Idea
If someone denies that he is thinking when he is conscious of it, we can only laugh
Source
Thomas Reid (Essays on Intellectual Powers 6: Judgement [1785], 5)
Book Ref
Reid,Thomas: 'Inquiry and Essays', ed/tr. Beanblossom /K.Lehrer [Hackett 1983], p.267
A Reaction
An example of the influence of Descartes' Cogito running through all subsequent European philosophy. There remain the usual questions about personal identity which then arise, but Reid addresses those.
| 23653 | If you can't distinguish the features of a complex object, your notion of it would be a muddle [Reid] |
| 23655 | An ad hominem argument is good, if it is shown that the man's principles are inconsistent [Reid] |
| 23654 | In obscure matters the few must lead the many, but the many usually lead in common sense [Reid] |
| 23656 | The structure of languages reveals a uniformity in basic human opinions [Reid] |
| 23657 | The existence of tensed verbs shows that not all truths are necessary truths [Reid] |
| 23660 | The theory of ideas, popular with philosophers, means past existence has to be proved [Reid] |
| 23658 | Consciousness is an indefinable and unique operation [Reid] |
| 23659 | If someone denies that he is thinking when he is conscious of it, we can only laugh [Reid] |
| 23662 | The existence of ideas is no more obvious than the existence of external objects [Reid] |
| 23661 | We are only aware of other beings through our senses; without that, we are alone in the universe [Reid] |
| 23663 | There are axioms of taste - such as a general consensus about a beautiful face [Reid] |