George Berkeley

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George Berkeley bigraphy, stories - philosopher

George Berkeley : biography

12 March 1685 – 14 January 1753

George Berkeley ( 12 March 168514 January 1753), also known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne), was an Anglo-Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism" (later referred to as "subjective idealism" by others). This theory denies the existence of material substance and instead contends that familiar objects like tables and chairs are only ideas in the minds of perceivers, and as a result cannot exist without being perceived. Berkeley is also known for his critique of abstraction, an important premise in his argument for immaterialism.

In 1709, Berkeley published his first major work, An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision, in which he discussed the limitations of human vision and advanced the theory that the proper objects of sight are not material objects, but light and colour. This foreshadowed his chief philosophical work A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge in 1710 which, after its poor reception, he rewrote in dialogue form and published under the title Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous in 1713. Repr. in In this collection of essays, Turbayne’s work comprised two papers that had been published in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research:

  • “Berkeley’s Two Concepts of Mind”
  • C. Turbayne’s reply to (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 1962, vol. 22, No. 4).

In this book, Berkeley’s views were represented by Philonous (Greek: ‘lover of mind’), while Hylas (Greek: ‘matter’) embodies the Irish thinker’s opponents, in particular John Locke. Berkeley argued against Sir Isaac Newton’s doctrine of absolute space, time and motion in De MotuBerkeley’s Philosophical Writings, New York: Collier, 1974, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 64-22680 (on Motion), published 1721. His arguments were a precursor to the views of Mach and Einstein.The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Micropædia, Vol. 2, Chicago, 2007 In 1732, he published Alciphron, a Christian apologetic against the free-thinkers, and in 1734, he published The Analyst, an empiricist critique of the foundations of infinitesimal calculus, which was influential in the development of mathematics.

His last major philosophical work, Siris (1744), begins by advocating the medicinal use of tar water, and then continues to discuss a wide range of topics including science, philosophy, and theology. Interest in Berkeley’s work increased after World War II, because he tackled many of the issues of paramount interest to philosophy in the 20th century such as the problems of perception, the difference between primary and secondary qualities, and the importance of language.

Life

Berkeley was born at his family home, Dysart Castle, near Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland, the eldest son of William Berkeley, a cadet of the English noble family of Berkeley. He was educated at Kilkenny College and attended Trinity College, Dublin, completing a Master’s degree in 1707. He remained at Trinity College after completion of his degree as a tutor and Greek lecturer.

His earliest publication was on mathematics, but the first that brought him notice was his Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision, first published in 1709. In the essay, Berkeley examines visual distance, magnitude, position and problems of sight and touch. While this work raised much controversy at the time, its conclusions are now accepted as an established part of the theory of optics.

The next publication to appear was the Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge in 1710 which had great success and gave him a lasting reputation, though few accepted his theory that nothing exists outside the mind. This was followed in 1713 by Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, in which he propounded his system of philosophy, the leading principle of which is that the world, as represented by our senses, depends for its existence on being perceived.