The Things I Take For Granted Summary

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Intro In Reid’s article, “The Things I Take For Granted,” (2008) Reid believes that true knowledge can be provided by our senses alone. He believes that there are certain principles that do not need to be proven, that have been universally accepted by most and that these principles are so common that all men can reason from them in order to have true knowledge. He points out that these principles are so apparent that any intelligent person would live their day to day lives conducting their actions and opinions by them and he believes those who do not lack common sense. Reid is very firm in his opinion that there are common principles which are applied to reasoning that do not require proof to be true but are demonstrated every day and therefore we can presume that they are true. Reid (2008)…show more content…
Therefore it is sensible to say that through careful observation our sense experience provides us with information that is reliable to use when carrying on the daily activities in our lives. Reid (2008) believes we can trust our senses for accurate and truthful knowledge based on three main points. He points out that empirical information gained through the sense experience is necessary to function properly in the real world. For example, when we look at things in the world we see objects and their qualities such as color, shape, and hardness. The existence of an object’s qualities cannot exist without the object existing, therefore we know what is presented immediately through our perception is real. We can trust these sensations because actions taken based on our senses allow us to successfully navigate through the world. For example, if one’s senses indicate that a chair is present, it is safe to sit on that chair unless further sense experiences show the chair is broken. Reid (2008) points out “that the operations of our

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