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Full Idea
We may all lack some sense or other; because of that defect, most of the features of objects may be concealed from us.
Gist of Idea
We lack some sense or other, and hence objects may have hidden features
Source
Michel de Montaigne (Apology for Raymond Sebond [1580], p.0666)
Book Ref
Montaigne,Michel de: 'The Complete Essays', ed/tr. Screech,M.A. [Penguin 1987], p.666
A Reaction
This strikes me as simple, straightforward common sense, and right. I cannot make sense of the claim that reality really is just the way it appears. We do not have a built-in neutrino detector, for example.
| 6258 | Virtue is the distinctive mark of truth, and its greatest product [Montaigne] |
| 6259 | Why can't a wise man doubt everything? [Montaigne] |
| 6260 | Sceptics say there is truth, but no means of making or testing lasting judgements [Montaigne] |
| 6261 | The soul is in the brain, as shown by head injuries [Montaigne] |
| 6262 | We lack some sense or other, and hence objects may have hidden features [Montaigne] |
| 6263 | No wisdom could make us comfortably walk a wide beam if it was high in the air [Montaigne] |