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George Berkeley

Irish idealist philosopher and Anglican bishop (1685-1753) · Academics · Died at 67

George Berkeley is read about 719 times a day, in 87 languages.

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An 18th-century Irish bishop who said matter doesn't exist - that tables and chairs are ideas in the mind, not stuff in the world - and built a philosophy so strange and tight it still won't go away.

AcademicsAcademicPhilosophyLiteratureNews BroadcastingEarly Modern Era

A life in dates

1753Died14 January 17531744“[Tar water] is of a nature so mild and benign and proportioned to the human constitution, as to warm without heating, to cheer but not inebriate.”In their wordsParagraph 217; comparable to: "Cups / That cheer but not inebriate", William Cowper, The Task, book iv, reported in Bartlett's Familiar

“Truth is the cry of all, but the game of the few.”In their wordsParagraph 368

1726“Westward the course of empire takes its way; The four first acts already past, A fifth shall close the drama with the day: Time's noblest offspring is the last.”In their wordsOn the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America (written in 1726), reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919);

1721“In the pursuit of truth we must beware of being misled by terms which we do not rightly understand. That is the chief point.”In their wordsParagraph 1

“For no one's authority ought to rank so high as to set a value on his words and terms even though nothing clear and determinate lies behind them.”In their wordsParagraph 1

“Solicitation and effort or conation belong properly to animate beings alone.”In their wordsParagraph 3

1685Born12 March 1685

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

George Berkeley by Jonh SmibertGeorge Berkeley by Jonh Smibertعلماء وفلاسفةعلماء وفلاسفةA Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge - frontispiece (1904)A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge - frontispiece (1904)Alciphron 1733 title page DutchAlciphron 1733 title page DutchAndrea Soldi (c.1703-1771) (circle of) - George Berkeley (1685-1753), Bishop of Cloyne - 38 - Lambeth PalaceAndrea Soldi (c.1703-1771) (circle of) - George Berkeley (1685-1753), Bishop of Cloyne - 38 - Lambeth PalaceBerkeley p32 diagramBerkeley p32 diagramBerkeley, George - Essays toward a new theory of vision, 1732 - BEIC 11810614Berkeley, George - Essays toward a new theory of vision, 1732 - BEIC 11810614Berkeley1-1Berkeley1-1

In their own words 10

,
George Berkeley
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. [Tar water] is of a nature so mild and benign and proportioned to the human constitution, as to warm without heating, to cheer but not inebriate.

    1744, Paragraph 217; comparable to: "Cups / That cheer but not inebriate", William Cowper, The Task, book iv, reported in Bartlett's Familiar, Own words

  2. Truth is the cry of all, but the game of the few.

    1744, Paragraph 368, Own words

  3. Westward the course of empire takes its way; The four first acts already past, A fifth shall close the drama with the day: Time's noblest offspring is the last.

    1726, On the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America (written in 1726), reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919);, Own words

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George Berkeley published An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision in 1709, arguing that sight perceives light and colour, not material objects. A year later came A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, which flopped, so he rewrote it as Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous in 1713 - a debate where Philonous, "lover of mind," dismantles the case for material substance. He challenged Newton's absolute space and time in De Motu (1721), prefiguring Einstein, then turned to Christian apologetics in Alciphron (1732) and a critique of calculus in The Analyst (1734) that reshaped mathematics. He died in Oxford in 1753 and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral. After World War II, his work on perception and language found new traction, and earlier American fascination had already put his name on a California city and university.

Category
Academics
Type
Academic
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1685 to 1753 · aged 67

Academics born in the 1680s 6

Feofan Prokopovich55.0Brook Taylor54.5Roger Cotes53.7William Stukeley50.2John Machin49.1Robert Simson48.5

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