The Bloomsbury Companion to Berkeley (Bloomsbury Companions)

Due to his theory of 'immaterialism' and Schopenhauer's regard of him as the 'father of idealism', George Berkeley (1685-1753) is one of the most important thinkers of the Early Modern period.__The Bloomsbury Companion to Berkeley__is a comprehensive one volume reference guide to his life, thought and work. In twenty six original essays, a team of leading international scholars of Modern Philosophy cover all of Berkeley's writings, from the major works such as his Principles of Human Knowledge through to minor works, unpublished manuscripts and correspondence, providing readers with a complete and accessible source of information to the entire corpus of Berkeley's writings. The book is supported by a substantial dictionary of major terms and extended essays on key themes in Berkeley's thought. In addition, the book includes sections covering Berkeley's life and times, and also his intellectual influence and legacy.__The Bloomsbury Companion to Berkeley__is an indispensable resource for anyone working on the history of Early Modern philosophy at any level and the definitive textbook to Berkeley's life and work. Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Contents Abbreviations Contributors Introduction Part One Berkeley’s Life and Importance 1 George Berkeley’s Biography Notes 2 Berkeley’s Bermuda Project in Context Education, commerce and the public good The Rhode Island experience The collapse of the Bermuda Project Notes 3 Berkeley’s Correspondence Berkeley’s correspondence Berkeley’s correspondents Minor correspondences and letters lost Notes 4 Berkeley and Twentieth-Century Realist–Anti-Realist Controversies Section I: Background and plan Section II: Berkeley’s ‘master argument’ Section III: The Kantian-conceptualist route to idealism Section IV: The empiricist inheritance Section V: The primacy of the first-person perspective Section VI: The impossibility of indirect realism Section VII: Two modern Berkelians Section VIII: Conclusion Note Part Two Berkeley’s Major Works 5 Atomism in Berkeley’s Theory of Vision Introduction Berkeley’s reply to his critics The atomistic approach Beyond atomism Notes 6 Berkeley’s Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge Introduction: Against the ‘Doctrine of Abstraction’ Main text 7 Three Dialogues between Hylas, Philonous and the Sceptic Notes 8 The Mystery of Goodness in Berkeley’sPassive Obedience Introduction Historical background (1707–1708) Berkeley’s approach to moral issues 1707–1712 Theological fundamentalism (1712) Notes 9 De Motu: Berkeley’s Philosophy of Science Introduction Natural philosophy and metaphysics Berkeley and Newton Absolute motion and absolute space Berkeley as anticipating Ernst Mach Notes 10 Alciphron; or the Minute Philosopher Berkeley’s Redefinition of Free-Thinking The circumstances of the work’s publication Minute philosophy – redefining the notion of free- thinking Against Mandeville’s naturalism The fallacy of Shaftesbury’s moral sense theory Religious interpretation of experience The refusal of Browne’s negative theology Social significance of religion The defence of the Scripture God’s grace and human freedom The Alciphron and the question of the development of Berkeley’s philosophy Notes 11 Berkeley’s Querist‘Hints . . . What Is to Be Done in this Critical State of our Affairs’ or Proposals for a Hyperborean Eutopia? Berkeley’s radical solution to Ireland’s problems Berkeley’s economic principles Persuading the recalcitrant The National Bank and the Irish Parliament Aftermath and The Querist revised Notes 12 Berkeley’s Siris, an Interpretation Reading Siris Tar as medicine The chemistry of life Science and its problem Physiology Ancient lore and cosmological vision Berkeley, new and old Notes Part Three Berkeley in Context 13 Berkeley and Descartes Descartes’ proof that there is a material world Descartes’ doctrine of the mind Notes 14 Berkeley and Leibniz Historical background Phenomenalisms Explanation and causation Knowledge of nature and human happiness Concluding remarks Notes 15 Berkeley’s Critique of Locke’s Theory of Perception Part I Part II Notes 16 Berkeley and Malebranche The existence of matter The vision of things in God Occasionalism Our knowledge of the mind Notes 17 Reid’s Opposition to Berkeley Ideas and idealism Space and sight Notes 18 Berkeley and Hume on the Imagination Notes 19 The Reception of Berkeley in Eighteenth-Century France The early reception of Berkeley in France Berkeley and the philosophes Allies and adversaries of Berkeley in the Counter-Enlightenment Part Four Main Themes in Berkeley’s Philosophy 20 Immaterialism and Common Sense Dismissive accounts What does Berkeley mean by ‘common sense’? Notes 21 Immediate and Mediate Perception in Berkeley Immediate and mediate perception in the theory of vision Natural signs and the language of the Author of nature The identity of sensible qualities and sensible ideas The immediate and mediate perception of sensible qualities How many definitions of immediate perception does Berkeley have? The immediate and mediate sense perception of physical objects Two objections, replies, and further considerations Notes 22 Berkeley on Ordinary Objects Ordinary objects and the persistence problem A dismissive response An idealist response A phenomenalist response Complementary threads? 23 Berkeley’s Philosophy of Mind The substance of mind in Berkeley’s philosophy The epistemology of mind in Berkeley’s philosophy The activity of mind in Berkeley’s philosophy The development of Berkeley’s account of mind Notes 24 Berkeley on the Philosophy of Language The dust metaphor The Ideational Theory Four interpretive options Berkeley and the Use Theory 25 Berkeley’s Philosophy of Mathematics The scientific situation Arithmetic Geometry and minima sensibilia Abstraction in mathematics Infinite divisibility The inducement for the Analyst The new ‘Cavalierian method’ The claim for exactitude The compensation of error The Analyst controversy Formalist or Instrumentalist? Notes 26 Berkeley’s Philosophy of Religion Natural religion Revealed religion Notes Bibliography Index Due to his theory of 'immaterialism' and Schopenhauer's regard of him as the 'father of idealism', George Berkeley (1685-1753) is one of the most important thinkers of the Early Modern period. The Bloomsbury Companion to Berkeley is a comprehensive one volume reference guide to his life, thought and work. In twenty six original essays, a team of leading international scholars of Modern Philosophy cover all of Berkeley's writings, from the major works such as his Principles of Human Knowledge through to minor works, unpublished manuscripts and correspondence, providing readers with a complete and accessible source of information to the entire corpus of Berkeley's writings. The book is supported by a substantial dictionary of major terms and extended essays on key themes in Berkeley's thought. In addition, the book includes sections covering Berkeley's life and times, and also his intellectual influence and legacy. The Bloomsbury Companion to Berkeley is an indispensable resource for anyone working on the history of Early Modern philosophy at any level and the definitive textbook to Berkeley's life and work. -- Back cover "Due to his theory of 'immaterialism' and Schopenhauer's regard of him as the 'father of idealism', George Berkeley (1685-1753) is one of the most important thinkers of the Early Modern period. The Bloomsbury Companion to Berkeley is a comprehensive one volume reference guide to his life, thought and work. In twenty six original essays, a team of leading international scholars of Modern Philosophy cover all of Berkeley's writings including unpublished manuscripts and correspondence, thus providing readers with a complete and accessible source of information to the entire corpus of Berkeley's writings. The book includes extended essays on key themes in Berkeley's thought as well as sections covering Berkeley's life and times, and also his intellectual influence and legacy."--Bloomsbury Publishing.