Moving on, in order for Berkeley to prove his point, he challenges Hylas (Descartes) to prove his ideas wrong, and if he was able to do that, then he would stop pushing his ideas and thoughts on the existence and perception of reality and all that it entails. "If I were made to see anything absurd on sceptical in this, I should then have the same reason to renounce this, that I imagine I have now to reject the contrary opinion (pg 121)." When Philonous (Berkeley) tells this to Hylas (Descartes), it reminded of a song by Linkin Park. The song that I am referring to is "New Divide." In this chorus, this singer already has a set thought on what he knows and believes...what he thought he knew and believed. "So give me reason to prove me wrong to wash this memory clean." Further into this song illustrates many thoughts and ideas of past and present philosophers, especially Berkeley and Descartes.
Here are the lyrics to the song as well as a video and a little something extra:
I remembered black skies
The lightning all around me
I remembered each flash
As time began to blur
Like a startling sign
That fate had finally found me
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve
So give me reason
To prove me wrong
To wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross
The distance in your eyes
Give me reason
To fill this hole
Connect this space between
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies
Across this new divide
There was nothing inside
The memories left abandoned
There was nowhere to hide
The ashes fell like snow
And the ground caved in
Between where we were standing
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve
So give me reason
To prove me wrong
To wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross
The distance in your eyes
Across this new divide
In every loss in every lie
In every truth that you deny
And each regret and each goodbye
Was a mistake too great to hide
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve
So give me reason
To prove me wrong
To wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross
The distance in your eyes
Give me reason
To fill this hole
Connect this space between
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies
Across this new divide
Across this new divide
Across this new divide
The lightning all around me
I remembered each flash
As time began to blur
Like a startling sign
That fate had finally found me
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve
So give me reason
To prove me wrong
To wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross
The distance in your eyes
Give me reason
To fill this hole
Connect this space between
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies
Across this new divide
There was nothing inside
The memories left abandoned
There was nowhere to hide
The ashes fell like snow
And the ground caved in
Between where we were standing
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve
So give me reason
To prove me wrong
To wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross
The distance in your eyes
Across this new divide
In every loss in every lie
In every truth that you deny
And each regret and each goodbye
Was a mistake too great to hide
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve
So give me reason
To prove me wrong
To wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross
The distance in your eyes
Give me reason
To fill this hole
Connect this space between
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies
Across this new divide
Across this new divide
Across this new divide
Something said in class inspired me to write this little poem, so I thought I should share it.
Beautify your lies
The truth speaks through your eyes
Fallen words on the floor unspoken
Only to be picked up by disguise
Only one speaks the truth if which all things are made
But you speak the lies to "him" you want to fade
The words of the false- to be praised and sanctified
Tainted Hearts, tainted minds, things that shouldn't be sanctified
Deceiver of all hearts, beautify your lies
The truth floats through these windows, the truth in your eyes
I believe Berkeley had a better approach for his argument and he knew exactly how to make the topic more interesting in the way Hylas had to think about what to say to defend his point. Hylas (Decartes) had a weak argument, that could be one of the reasons why Berkeley was pushing his ideas to him. If a person does not know how to convince the other one, then at a point of the discussion the one with a weak arguement might just feel like giving up or at least stop for a while reorganize her thoughts. Even though Berkeley was right defending the existence of God by using common sense, I still believe it would be a hard thing for him to convince another person if the other person has a strong argument to prove his point.
ReplyDeleteThat is actually one of my favorite music videos. I like how it merges from reality to amazing special effects. I think that alone can tie this music video to these philosophers since the video seems to make one question reality and our perception of it. I too am in-between Descartes and Berkeley. They both claim common sense and both put very good reasons behind their theories. Berkeley’s idea seems plausible and it fits very well with Christian philosophy. That being said it is also a little farfetched when thinking that everything we see are simply ideas. I haven’t made up my mind on who’s right yet; ill probably figure it out when I’m more mature.
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