George Berkeley
Anglo-Irish philosopher and bishop (1685–1753); founder of immaterialism, or subjective idealism.
At a glance
Main ideas
Esse est percipi, Only spirits and ideas, Against abstract ideas …
See all 5Books to start with
An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous …
See all 6Connections
John Locke, Isaac Newton and 2 others
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Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Berkeley was an Anglo-Irish philosopher, writer and clergyman, Bishop of Cloyne in the Church of Ireland.
- He is regarded as the founder of immaterialism, later called subjective idealism, and was a pioneer of empiricism.
- He denied that material substance exists: objects such as tables and chairs are ideas perceived by the mind.
- He also argued against Newton's absolute space, time and motion, and criticised the foundations of calculus.
Why it matters
- He was among the most cited philosophers of 18th-century Europe and influenced Kant and Hume; the University of California, Berkeley, and the city of Berkeley are named after him.
Key facts
- Born
- 12 Mar 1685, Dysart Castle, near Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland1
- Died
- 14 Jan 1753, Oxford; buried in Christ Church Cathedral1
- Education
- Kilkenny College; Trinity College Dublin (BA 1704, MA 1707)1
- Bishop of Cloyne
- From 1734 until his death1
- America
- Lived on a plantation near Newport, Rhode Island, while trying to found a college in Bermuda; returned to London in 17321
- Slavery
- Bought enslaved Africans for the plantation; in 2023 Trinity College Dublin removed his name from a library over his slave ownership and defence of slavery1
Main ideas
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Esse est percipi1
To be is to be perceived: sensible things cannot exist without a mind that perceives them.
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Only spirits and ideas1
There are two kinds of things: spirits, which perceive, and ideas, which are perceived.
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Against abstract ideas1
The mind cannot form abstract ideas; this critique underpins his immaterialism.
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God as perceiver2
The world goes on existing unobserved because it is perceived by the mind of God.
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Against absolute space1
In De Motu he argued against Newton's absolute space, time and motion.
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
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An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision1
The proper objects of sight are light and colour, not material objects.
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A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge1
His best-known work, setting out immaterialism.
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Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous1
The same system rewritten as a dialogue.
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De Motu1
Against Newton's absolute space, time and motion.
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Alciphron1
A Christian apologetic against the free-thinkers.
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The Analyst1
A critique of the foundations of calculus.
Connections
Links
Sources
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