Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles The appeal to the stone (argumentum ad lapidem) is directly tied to an anecdote involving Dr. Samuel Johnson. The philosopher George Berkeley, associated with a school of thought known as subjective idealism, argued that all worldly objects, including stones, exist only in our perceptions and have no independent reality. Essentially, Berkeley posited that physical objects do not exist independently of the mind perceiving them. In response to Berkeley's complex and seemingly counter-intuitive philosophical claim, Dr. Samuel Johnson's reputedly kicked a large stone and felt its hard, undeniable reality, which caused him pain. He then exclaimed, "I refute it thus," implying that the stone's very real presence, and his ability to kick it, was sufficient refutation of Berkeley's philosophy.
B2 berkeley samuel stone johnson subjective george Samuel Johnson's Stone: A Physical Rebuttal to George Berkeley's Subjective Idealism 22 0 Shao Chieh Lo posted on 2023/11/20 More Share Save Report Video vocabulary