Early Modern Philosophy Thought for the Day
"The sceptic asks me, Why do you believe the existence of the external object which you perceive? This belief, sir, is none of my manufacture; it came from the mint of Nature; it bears her image and superscription; and, if it is not right, the fault is not mine: I even took it upon trust, and without suspicion. Reason, says the sceptic, is the only judge of truth, and you ought to throw off every opinion and every belief that is not grounded on reason. Why, sir, should I believe the faculty of reason more than that of perception? — they came both out of the same shop, and were made by the same artist; and if he puts one piece of false ware into my hands, what should hinder him from putting another?"
Thomas Reid, An Inquiry into the Human Mind, ch. 6, section 20. Thomas Reid was a leading representative of Scottish Common Sense Philosophy. You can read more about Reid at the SEP (and about his context here).
