Irish philosopher George Bishop Berkeley was one of the greatest philosophers of the early modern period. Along with David Hume and John Locke he is considered one of the fathers of British Empiricism. Berkeley is a clear, concise, and sympathetic introduction to George Berkeley's philosophy, and a thorough review of his most important texts. Daniel E. Flage explores his works on vision, metaphysics, morality, and economics in an attempt to develop a philosophically plausible interpretation of Berkeley's oeuvre as whole.Many scholars blur the rejection of material substance (immaterialism) with the claim that only minds and things dependent upon minds exist (idealism). However Flage shows how, by distinguishing idealism from immaterialism and arguing that Berkeley's account of what there is (metaphysics) is dependent upon what is known (epistemology), a careful and plausible philosophy emerges.The author sets out the implications of this valuable insight for Berkeley's moral and economic works, showing how they are a natural outgrowth of his metaphysics, casting new light on the appreciation of these and other lesser-known areas of Berkeley's thought.Daniel E. Flage's Berkeley presents the student and general reader with a clear and eminently readable introduction to Berkeley's works which also challenges standard interpretations of Berkeley's philosophy.

Acknowledgements ixAbbreviations xiChapter 1: Berkeley's Life and Writings 1Why Study Berkeley Today? 1Early Life 3Bermuda and Rhode Island 7Bishop of Cloyne 12On Reading Berkeley 17Further Reading 21Chapter 2: Vision 22The Historical Context: Methods of Inquiry and Theories of Vision 23Berkeley on Seeing Distance (NTV

2-51) 26Perception of Magnitude (NTV

52-87) 31Situation and Numerical Heterogeneity (NTV

88-120) 33Heterogeneity and the Universal Language of Vision (NTV

121-158) 36A Look Back; A Look Ahead 39Further Reading 41Chapter 3: Abstraction 42Historical Context 43The Principal Arguments 48Language 53A Look Back; A Look Ahead 54Further Reading 55Chapter 4: The Case for Idealism and Immaterialism in the Principles 56The Case for Idealism (Sections 1-7) 58The Attack on Matter (Sections 8-24) 70Onward to Ordinary Objects (Sections 25-33) 86A Look Back; A Look Ahead 94Further Reading 95Chapter 5: Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous 97Background 98Dialogue One 99Dialogue Two 105Dialogue Three 108A Look Back; A Look Ahead 112Further Reading 113Chapter 6: Minds: Yours, Mine, and God's 114The Principles 116Knowing Minds: Dialogue Three 124Your Mind and God's 131A Look Back; A Look Ahead 136Further Reading 136Chapter 7: Moral Philosophy 137Moral Theories 138The Egoistic Notebooks 142Passive Obedience 147Alciphron 158A Look Back; A Look Ahead 162Further Reading 163Chapter 8: Economics and the Irish Condition 164Eighteenth-Century Ireland and the South Sea Bubble 164An Essay towards Preventing of the Ruin of Great Britain 166The Querist 169Further Reading 176Chapter 9: Concluding Remarks 177Endnotes 182Bibliography 189Index 197