Samuel Johnson is a famous British writer and is the second most quoted person in the English language after Shakespeare. A friend of his once described a conversation he had with Johnson in these words: “After we came out of the church, we stood talking of Bishop Berkeley’s ingenious [attempt] to prove the nonexistence of matter and that every thing in the universe is merely idea. I observed that though his doctrine is not true, it is impossible to refute it. I never shall forget the alacrity [quickness] with which Johnson answered, striking his foot with mighty force against a large stone, till he rebounded from it: ‘I refute it thus!’” Why did Johnson think he was refuting Berkeley by kicking the stone so hard his boot bounced back? How would Berkeley answer Johnson’s “refutation.” Which do you think is right: Johnson’s refutation or Berkeley’s answer? Why?
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