Katherine ’ s Diary
December 2 , 2023 . Monday . 12:50 am
Dear Diary ,
Today Mr . Harold ’ s philosophy class was pretty interesting . It left me thinking for the rest of the day . I was not excited for the class but then he popped in the question “ Do things exist only in our minds ?” “ No ” was the first thing that came to my mind . However , then he explained a certain philosopher ’ s argument , Berkeley . “ Esse Est Percipi ” “ To be , is to be perceived ”. But does that mean that I can ’ t “ be ” if I am not perceived ? If I was taken away and locked , I wouldn ’ t be able to interact with people , and nobody would perceive me , therefore I wouldn ’ t exist . In that case , I don ’ t exist because of my properties , qualities , and characteristics , but because others can tell I exist , they can recognize me with their senses . That wouldn ’ t make sense , right ? Locked and isolated , I am still living , my head travels to places as I keep thinking , missing , and dreaming . I would still feel even though my emotions will only impact me , but I would still be , wouldn ’ t I ? Yet Berkeley thinks that there is one reality , mind , and its ideas .
December 3 , 2023 . Tuesday . 3:30 pm
Dear Diary ,
Mr . Harold just said Berkeley believes all things exist inside one ’ s mind , therefore everything exists in our mind . I wondered again if I still exist if I wasn ’ t in anyone ’ s mind . I thought , perhaps there was something else , some unnatural force or presence that perceives me too . And while reading the class textbook I realized it happened to be similar to Berkeley ’ s concept of perception . “ But in Berkeley ’ s view , creation is something that goes on constantly . At this moment , as at every moment , God is creating and sustaining the world by his continuing perception of it .” ( Miller and Jensen 125 ) That ’ s it ! Maybe ,
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