Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind

The notions we annex to the words, matter, and mind, as is well remarked by Dr. Reidfi are merely relative. Ifi am aiked what I mean by matter? I can only explain myfeif by faying, it is that which is extended, figured, coloured, moveable, hard or foft, rough or fmooth, hot or cold g - that is, I can de fine it in no other way, than by enumerating its fenh ble qualities. It is not matter, or body, which Iper ceive by my fenfes but only extenfion, figure, col our, and certain other qualities, which the conflitu tion of my nature leads me to refer to fomething, which is extended, fi red, and coloured. The cafe is precifely fimilar with refpeét to Mind. We are not immediately confcious of its exiflence, but we are confcious of fenfation, thought, and volition; operations, which imply the exiitence of fomething which feels, thinks, and wills. Every man too is impreffed' with an irrefiflible conviction, that all thefe fenfations, thoughts, and volitions, belong to one and the fame being; to that being, which he calls bifly'elf; a being, which he is led, by the confli tution of his nature, to confider as fomething dif tinét from his body, and as not liable to be impair ed by the lofs or mutilation of any of his organs.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.