ABSTRACT
He first compared the sense of sight with other senses ‘that give us intelligence of things at a distance’ (Reid 1997, VI.8: 99/12-13). In addition to sight, the other two senses that give us intelligence of things at a distance from our body are smell and hearing, both senses by which we perceive secondary qualities. It is in the context of this comparison with other senses that Reid remarked that while smell and hearing give us no knowledge previous to experience of the direction of the smelling or sounding body in relation to our sense organs, sight works differently. The sensation of color seems to suggest not only its cause, but also the position of this cause with regard to the eye. However, as Reid remarked at the end of the paragraph, thus anticipating his final position, the position of the colored thing is presented to the mind ‘without any additional sensation’ thanks to the peculiar laws of our constitution (Reid 1997, VI.8: 99/31).
