Berkeley's Metaphysics

Berkeley's Metaphysics
Author: Robert G. Muehlmann
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2010-11-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0271042281

A Metaphysics for the Mob

A Metaphysics for the Mob
Author: John Russell Roberts
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2007-05-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0195313933

Berkeley claimed that his immaterialist metaphysics was not only consistent with common sense but that it was also integral to its defense. Roberts argues that understanding the basic connection between Berkeley's philosophy requires that we develop a better understanding of the principle components of his positive metaphyics.

A Metaphysics for the Mob

A Metaphysics for the Mob
Author: John Russell Roberts
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2007-05-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0190295368

George Berkeley notoriously claimed that his immaterialist metaphysics was not only consistent with common sense but that it was also integral to its defense. Roberts argues that understanding the basic connection between Berkeley's philosophy and common sense requires that we develop a better understanding of the four principle components of Berkeley's positive metaphysics: The nature of being, the divine language thesis, the active/passive distinction, and the nature of spirits. Roberts begins by focusing on Berkeley's view of the nature of being. He elucidates Berkeley's view on Locke and the Cartesians and by examining Berkeley's views about related concepts such as unity and simplicity. From there he moves on to Berkeley's philosophy of language arguing that scrutiny of the famous "Introduction" to the Principles of Human Knowledge reveals that Berkeley identified the ideational theory of meaning and understanding as the root cause of some of the worst of man's intellectual errors, not "abstract ideas." Abstract ideas are, rather, the most debilitating symptom of this underlying ailment. In place of the ideational theory, Berkeley defends a rudimentary "use theory" of meaning. This understanding of Berkeley's approach to semantics is then applied to the divine language thesis and is shown to have important consequences for Berkeley's pragmatic approach to the ontology of natural objects and for his approach to our knowledge of, and relation to other minds, including God's. Turning next to Berkeley's much aligned account of spirits, the author defends the coherence of Berkeley's view of spirits by way of providing an interpretation of the active/passive distinction as marking a normative distinction and by focusing on the role that divine language plays in letting Berkeley identify the soul with the will. With these four principles of Berkeley's philosophy in hand, he then returns to the topic of common sense and offers a defense of Berkeley's philosophy as built upon and expressive of the deepest metaphysical commitments of mainstream Christianity. Roberts' reappraisal of this important figure should appeal to all historians of philosophy as well as scholars in metaphysics and philosophy of language.

Berkeley's Philosophy of Spirit

Berkeley's Philosophy of Spirit
Author: Talia Mae Bettcher
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2007-06-23
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0826486436

Provides a new interpretation of Berkeley's conception of 'spirit' and its link with self-consciousness, as a way into his immaterialist metaphysics. Along the way, it sheds new light on Descartes's cogito and Hume's 'bundle' theory of the self.

Berkeley: Philosophical Writings

Berkeley: Philosophical Writings
Author: George Berkeley
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 387
Release: 2008
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0521881358

This edition provides texts from the full range of Berkeley's contributions to philosophy, and sets them in their historical and philosophical contexts.

Berkeley's Philosophy of Spirit

Berkeley's Philosophy of Spirit
Author: Talia Mae Bettcher
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2007-04-23
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1441164499

This book tackles some of the deepest problems in Berkeley's philosophy by providing a fresh interpretation of Berkeley's core ontological doctrines and their relationship to his views about self-consciousness. Berkeley, the author argues, is led to adopt a new model of self-consciousness because he rejects the basic metaphysics of many of his predecessors. This new model of self-consciousness provides the foundation for Berkeley's own ontological framework. Bettcher's interpretation provides answers to long-standing questions about Berkeley's traditionally derided views about mind, offers an elegant treatment of Berkeley's core metaphysical views more generally, and illuminates Berkeley's innovative attempt to address the important philosophical and theological issues of his day. Moreover, Bettcher shows the importance of Berkeley's philosophy of spirit to the perplexing thesis that the subject of experience is somehow mysteriously elusive. She argues that Berkeley can be seen as a transitional figure with respect to the older philosophical concept of 'subject' (as a metaphysical supporter of properties) and the more modern philosophical concept of 'subject (as opposed to 'object'). She provides a re-reading of Hume's famous claim that when he turned reflection upon himself, he could perceive only perceptions and sheds new light on the notion of a 'subject of experience'. The book will be of substantial interest both to Berkeley scholars and to philosophers concerned with contemporary discussions of self-consciousness.

Berkeley's Argument for Idealism

Berkeley's Argument for Idealism
Author: Samuel C. Rickless
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2013-01-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0199669422

In the early 18th century George Berkeley made the astonishing claim that physical objects such as tables and chairs are nothing but collections of ideas. Samuel Rickless presents a new account of Berkeley's controversial argument, and suggests it is the philosopher's greatest legacy: not only is it valid, but it may well be sound.

Berkeley's Idealism

Berkeley's Idealism
Author: Georges Dicker
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
Total Pages: 325
Release: 2011-06-15
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0195381467

Using the tools of contemporary analytic philosophy, Georges Dicker here examines both the destructive and the constructive sides of Berkeley's thought, against the background of the mainstream views that he rejected.

Berkeley

Berkeley
Author: Margaret Atherton
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2019-04-29
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1405149167

Presents a concise and comprehensive analysis of George Berkeley’s thought and the impact of his intellectual contributions to philosophy In this latest addition to the Blackwell Great Minds series, noted scholar of early modern philosophy Margaret Atherton examines Berkeley’s most influential work and demonstrates the significant conceptual impact of his ideas in metaphysics and the philosophy of religion. A concise and rigorous primer on Berkeley’s essential writings and contributions to modern philosophy Written by a leading scholar of early modern philosophy Offers insight into the foundations of modern metaphysical and religious philosophy Equips readers to find firm footing in Berkeley’s wider body of published work in the canon of Western philosophy