Irish philosopher George Bishop Berkeley was one of the greatest
philosophers of the early modern period. Along with David Hume and
John Locke he is considered one of the fathers of British
Empiricism. Berkeley is a clear, concise, and sympathetic
introduction to George Berkeley’s philosophy, and a thorough
review of his most important texts. Daniel E. Flage explores his
works on vision, metaphysics, morality, and economics in an attempt
to develop a philosophically plausible interpretation of
Berkeley’s oeuvre as whole.
Many scholars blur the rejection of material substance
(immaterialism) with the claim that only minds and things dependent
upon minds exist (idealism). However Flage shows how, by
distinguishing idealism from immaterialism and arguing that
Berkeley’s account of what there is (metaphysics) is
dependent upon what is known (epistemology), a careful and
plausible philosophy emerges.
The author sets out the implications of this valuable insight for
Berkeley’s moral and economic works, showing how they are a
natural outgrowth of his metaphysics, casting new light on the
appreciation of these and other lesser-known areas of
Berkeley’s thought.
Daniel E. Flage’s Berkeley presents the student and general
reader with a clear and eminently readable introduction to
Berkeley’s works which also challenges standard
interpretations of Berkeley’s philosophy.
Inhoudsopgave
Acknowledgements ix
Abbreviations xi
Chapter 1: Berkeley’s Life and Writings 1
Why Study Berkeley Today? 1
Early Life 3
Bermuda and Rhode Island 7
Bishop of Cloyne 12
On Reading Berkeley 17
Further Reading 21
Chapter 2: Vision 22
The Historical Context: Methods of Inquiry and Theories of
Vision 23
Berkeley on Seeing Distance (NTV §§2-51) 26
Perception of Magnitude (NTV §§52-87) 31
Situation and Numerical Heterogeneity (NTV
§§88-120) 33
Heterogeneity and the Universal Language of Vision (NTV
§§121-158) 36
A Look Back; A Look Ahead 39
Further Reading 41
Chapter 3: Abstraction 42
Historical Context 43
The Principal Arguments 48
Language 53
A Look Back; A Look Ahead 54
Further Reading 55
Chapter 4: The Case for Idealism and Immaterialism in the
Principles 56
The Case for Idealism (Sections 1-7) 58
The Attack on Matter (Sections 8-24) 70
Onward to Ordinary Objects (Sections 25-33) 86
A Look Back; A Look Ahead 94
Further Reading 95
Chapter 5: Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous
97
Background 98
Dialogue One 99
Dialogue Two 105
Dialogue Three 108
A Look Back; A Look Ahead 112
Further Reading 113
Chapter 6: Minds: Yours, Mine, and God’s 114
The Principles 116
Knowing Minds: Dialogue Three 124
Your Mind and God’s 131
A Look Back; A Look Ahead 136
Further Reading 136
Chapter 7: Moral Philosophy 137
Moral Theories 138
The Egoistic Notebooks 142
Passive Obedience 147
Alciphron 158
A Look Back; A Look Ahead 162
Further Reading 163
Chapter 8: Economics and the Irish Condition 164
Eighteenth-Century Ireland and the South Sea Bubble 164
An Essay towards Preventing of the Ruin of Great Britain 166
The Querist 169
Further Reading 176
Chapter 9: Concluding Remarks 177
Endnotes 182
Bibliography 189
Index 197
Over de auteur
Daniel Flage is Professor of Philosophy at James Madison university.
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