George Berkeley

George Berkeley was an Irish Philosopher who lived between 1685 and 1753. He is probably one of the better known proponents of Philosophical Idealism.

He postulated that there was no such thing as an unperceived material reality. His world view was based on the marriage of two truths that he considered were self evident:

that the things which are immediately perceived are real things

and

that the things that are immediately perceived are ideas which exist only in the mind.

His theory was dependent on an all knowing God

It is evident that the things I perceive, are my own ideas, and that no idea can exist unless it be in a mind. Nor is it less plain that these ideas or things by me perceived, either themselves or their archetypes, exist independently of my mind, since I know myself not to be their author, it being out of my power to determine at pleasure, what particular ideas I shall be affected with on openning my eyes or ears. They must therefore exist in some other mind, whose will it is they should be exhibitted to me.

Before you dismiss Berkeley, be aware that its not that simple to dismiss one paradigm by using the tools and assumptions of an opposing paradigm .

Its important to give his stuff some time and space to allow your definition of the concept of idea to open up.

His paradigm predicted problems with calculus which were not picked up until 200 years later, and his principal premis was respected by people like Schroedinger

Berkeley's universe was a unity, and he could easily show the difficulties experienced by philosophical dualism with its two different and unreconciled types of stuff, mind and matter. .

Western philosophy however instead of proceeding down the non-dualistic path of perception and idea, opted instead for an independent material reality,and the non-dualistic path of materialism. One wonders how honest a unity this is. Can we really live with necessary de-humanising consequences, and consign beauty and joy (amongst other realities) to the realms of the meaningless?

I believe Berkeley's direction was right. I also believe that some of the difficulties of his philosphy can be resolved with scriptural Wisdom enhancing Berkeley's central concept of Perception.

Berkeley's cosmology basically consisted of a reality comprised of Ideas, and the Perception of Ideas. He likened these ideas to letters which could be combined by persons to build words. The sources, manipulators, and perceivers of ideas are Person, with a personal God as the primary Source and fundamental perception of all created reality or idea.

Many of Berkeley's works are available on the internet:

A Treatise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge A Treatise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous The Querist The Analyst A Defence of Free-Thinking in Mathematics Reasons for not replying to Mr. Walton's Full Answer A Treatise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge

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