A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge
Aug 2012 · Courier Corporation
Ebook
144
Pages
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About this ebook
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is present to hear it, does it make a sound? It does not, according to George Berkeley. Originally published in 1710, this landmark of Western philosophy introduced a revolutionary concept: immaterialism, which asserts that to be is to perceive or be perceived.
An Irish clergyman who spent his entire philosophical career as a churchman, Berkeley linked his investigations to his religious interests. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge opens with an assault on Locke’s theory of abstract ideas and proceeds with arguments that sensible qualities exist only when perceived as ideas. Physical objects, he claims, are no more than collections of qualities, and these sensible objects, too, are merely ideas. Berkeley relates his position to the achievements of eighteenth-century science, and proclaims the compatibility of immaterialism with traditional religion.
The fullest expression of Berkeley’s doctrine of immaterialism, this classic work influenced British philosophers from David Hume to Bertrand Russell and the other logical positivists. It is essential reading for all students of philosophy.
An Irish clergyman who spent his entire philosophical career as a churchman, Berkeley linked his investigations to his religious interests. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge opens with an assault on Locke’s theory of abstract ideas and proceeds with arguments that sensible qualities exist only when perceived as ideas. Physical objects, he claims, are no more than collections of qualities, and these sensible objects, too, are merely ideas. Berkeley relates his position to the achievements of eighteenth-century science, and proclaims the compatibility of immaterialism with traditional religion.
The fullest expression of Berkeley’s doctrine of immaterialism, this classic work influenced British philosophers from David Hume to Bertrand Russell and the other logical positivists. It is essential reading for all students of philosophy.
About the author
Born and reared in Ireland, George Berkeley studied at Trinity College, Dublin, and then taught as a fellow there, eventually becoming Dean of Derry (1724) and Bishop of Cloyne (1734) in the Irish branch of the Anglican church. His primary philosophical interests included metaphysics and epistemology, the psychology of perception, philosophy of science, and natural theology. But he is best known for his defense of metaphysical idealism and denial of the existence of matter. Berkeley's best-known writings were produced relatively early in his life, between the ages of 24 and 28: They included Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision (1709), Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710), and Three Dialogues (1713). In 1728 Berkeley made a voyage to the United States in an unsuccessful attempt to found a college in Bermuda. He lived for two years at Newport, Rhode Island, and had a significant influence on American education, chiefly through his association with and donation of books to Yale University and his correspondence with Samuel Johnson, the first president of what is now Columbia University.
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