Berkeley, George
"Three Dialogues Between Hylas And Philonous"
. And granting that we never hear a sound but when
some motion is produced in the air, yet I do not see how you can
infer from thence, that the sound itself is in the air.
. It is this very motion in the external air that
produces in the mind the sensation of . For, striking on
the drum of the ear, it causeth a vibration, which by the
auditory nerves being communicated to the brain, the soul is
thereupon affected with the sensation called .
. What! is sound then a sensation?
. I tell you, as perceived by us, it is a particular
sensation in the mind.
. And can any sensation exist without the mind?
. No, certainly.
. How then can sound, being a sensation, exist in the
air, if by the you mean a senseless substance existing
without the mind?
. You must distinguish, Philonous, between sound as it
is {182} perceived by us, and as it is in itself; or (which is
the same thing) between the sound we immediately perceive, and
that which exists without us.
Pages:
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35