Dr. Samuel Johnson.

The philosopher George Berkeley, associated with a school of thought known as subjective

idealism, argued that all worldly objects, including stones, exist only in our perceptions

and have no independent reality.

Essentially, Berkeley posited that physical objects do not exist independently of the

mind perceiving them.

In response to Berkeley's complex and seemingly counter-intuitive philosophical claim, Dr.

Samuel Johnson's reputedly kicked a large stone and felt its hard, undeniable reality,

which caused him pain.

He then exclaimed, "I refute it thus," implying that the stone's very real presence, and his

ability to kick it, was sufficient refutation of Berkeley's philosophy.