Berkeley

George Berkeley
(1685-1753)
Berkeley
Brilliant
Berkeley (1685-1753)
thinker greatly influenced by

John Locke, but developed a system of
philosophy that bitterly opposed Lockes
empiricism.
Developed a philosophy that aimed at
restoring Christian values.
aimed to prove that the idol of atheists
(matter) does not exist; the world is a
communion of finite spirits with the
Infinite Spirit.
Berkeley, began by accepting the

empiricist epistemology of Locke
(that knowledge begins in sense
perception), but does not accept the
distinction between primary and
secondary qualities. Like Locke,
Berkeley
held
that
subjective
impressions are the immediate object
of our knowledge,
( we know nothing directly except the

data which our sense perception
provides us) but unlike Locke,
Berkeley held that all ideas are
subjective (that is, ideas taking place
within the mind and modified by
individual bias).
Recall that for Locke the

primary qualities (like shape, motion
and other external qualities of
material objects) are objective, or
are in the objects outside,
or
independent from, the mind of the
one who perceives them,
while secondary qualities (like color,

taste, and other qualities of material
objects) are subjective or are
qualities contributed by the mind to
the objects it perceives. This is
erroneous according to Berkeley.
For him, even the primary

qualities
are
mere
subjective
impressions in our minds when we
perceive them: the shape of a coin is
round not because it is objectively
round but because we perceive it to
be round.
It is our subjective perception

that makes the description of objects
possible. The objectivity of the
external world therefore is, for
Berkeley, an illusion the world is
subjectively
perceived
by
the
perceiver.
...By sight I have the ideas of light

and colours with their several
degrees and variations. By touch I
perceive, for example, hard and soft,
heat and cold, motion and resistance,
and of all these more and less either
as to quantity or degree.
Smelling furnishes me with

odours; the palate with tastes, and
hearing conveys sounds to the mind
in all their variety of tone and
composition. And as several of these
are observe to accompany each
other, they come to be marked by
one name, and so to be reputed as
one thing.
For
Berkeley
subjective
impressions are the immediate object
of our knowledge, that is, we know
nothing directly except the data which
our sense perception provide us.
Now, look for a coin (any coin would
do, hold it in such a way that you
could also see it).
You dont directly know that a

coin exist without your senses telling
you that in your palm, you are
holding an object called coin, which
is round, smooth to touch, light,
and so fourth. Without your sense of
touch and sense of sight, theres no
way you could say that a coin in your
palm exists.
The point is, everything that we

know to exist is a matter of assumption
based on what your senses report to you
to be real and existing. The world out
there may exist but we dont know for
sure for there is no other way of
knowing except through our sense
perceptions. What we are sure of are the
ideas we have concerning it according to
the impressions it makes in our minds.
-nothing real exists outside

subjective impression: to be is to be
perceived esse est percipi. When
we say a thing exists, we mean
nothing more than we perceive it. If a
perceiver cease to perceive a thing,
then the thing ceases to exist.
Everything , therefore, are mere
ideas in the mind.
It is indeed an opinion
strangely prevailing amongst men,
that houses, mountains, rivers, and in
a word all sensible objects have an
existence natural or real, distinct from
their being perceived by the
understanding.
Berkeley offered his solution based

from three possible answers:
ideas themselves (ideas causing
other ideas to arise),
2. Our ownselves (our will conjuring
ideas of imaginations), and
3. spirits (some other spirit other than
us).
1.
Berkeley eliminates the first

option because ideas are passive,
that is, they possess no causal power
they have no power to cause other
ideas to arise (for instance, the idea
of shape cannot cause the perceiver
to have an idea of color, and vice
versa).
According to Berkeley, this

second option is eliminated with the
observation that although it can
clearly cause some ideas at will,
sensory ideas are, on the contrary,
involuntary
they
present
themselves whether we wish to
perceive them or not and we cannot
control their content (for example,
someone slap you on the face.
Could you deny the sharp pain in

your
cheek?).
Sensory
ideas,
therefore, cannot be caused by mere
will-conjuring-ideas.
Berkeley notes that the ideas

that the constitute real things must
therefore exhibit a steadiness,
vivacity,
and
distinctness
that
chimerical ideas (unreal ideas) do
not. The most crucial feature that he
points to, is coherence, or order - all
our sensory ideas, that are amazingly
coherent, must be caused by some
other spirit.
Berkeley thinks that when we

consider the stunning complexity and
systematicity of our sensory ideas,
we must conclude that the spirit in
question is wise and benevolent
beyond measure, and that, in
Berkeleys words, is what we call
God.
No finite spirit, according to

Berkeley, could produce the coherent
idea in our minds about the things
outside us, or the laws of nature
connecting all natural phenomena
only God could and this proves that
he exists. God produces in our spirit
the idea of the universe and all the
laws of the universe.
everything we see, hear, feel,

or any way perceive by sense, being
a sign or effect of the power of God;
as is our perception of those very
motion, which are produced by men.
It is therefore plain, that nothing can
be more evident to anyone that is
capable of the least reflection, than
the existence of God,
or a spirit who is intimately present to

our minds, producing in them all that
variety of ideas or sensations, which
continually affect us, on whom we
have an absolute and entire
dependence, in short, in whom we
live, and move, and have our being.
For Berkeley, we must reject

the wrongful notion about the theory
of physical reality and instead
recognize that God directly feeds us
perceptions of external things
because it is beyond our capability to
access some external world behind
our perceptions.
Thank
You.

Berkeley

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Berkeley

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George Berkeley

thinker greatly influenced by

Berkeley, began by accepting the

( we know nothing directly except the

Recall that for Locke the

while secondary qualities (like color,

For him, even the primary

It is our subjective perception

...By sight I have the ideas of light

Smelling furnishes me with

You dont directly know that a

The point is, everything that we

-nothing real exists outside

Berkeley offered his solution based

Berkeley eliminates the first

According to Berkeley, this

Could you deny the sharp pain in

Berkeley notes that the ideas

Berkeley thinks that when we

No finite spirit, according to

everything we see, hear, feel,

or a spirit who is intimately present to

For Berkeley, we must reject

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