Berkeley George Berkeley Argues That Essay

Doubling in size could mean a few different things as well. If "size" was taken only to mean mass, this could make the change disproportional in other dimensions. If that happened, we would perceive these changes. Only a doubling that was equally proportional in all respects could go unperceived. It is worth considering, however, that if the height and width of an object doubled, its volume and therefore mass would more than double. This means that we would perceive such changes, because the proportions of different items would be different.

I do not believe that how suddenly the change occurs would make much difference, because our minds have the ability to store long-term information. It would be easier, perhaps, to perceive rapid changes than slower changes. However, a factor that could be more important is the frequency of such changes. If objects in the world were constantly doubling in size, we may find that our minds have created a shorthand by which to understand the world, and this shorthand would make the adjustments naturally with the actual changes in the material world. Thus, while the physical world would be subject to constant change, our perceptions would not be, because it is easier to understand the material world as static rather than subject to a constant doubling or halving in size. Conversely, if the doubling in size happened infrequently, our minds would not necessarily build in this adaptation, and therefore our perceptions would be challenged by the change in the material world. We would be compelled to notice the change and understand it. If the material world does exist outside of our perceptions, we must develop mechanisms by which we perceive that material world, and by considering the different ways that the material world can change, we can better understand on a philosophical level how the interaction between our perceptions of the material world and the actual material world itself occur.