George Berkeley

George Berkeley [ bɑrkli ] ( born March 12, 1685 in County Kilkenny (Ireland ); † January 14, 1753 in Oxford) was an Anglican theologian, sensualist and philosopher of the Enlightenment. He came from a Protestant royalist family of Anglo-Irish upper class.

Berkeley can be seen as the link between Locke and Hume. He made his contributions from the perspective of a thinker that emanated from the objects of his perception, it drew its own conclusions in each case and this sat against theories that were not applicable in his view. As a result of his zetetischen assumptions he represented a nominalist philosophy. Many philosophers designated him as immaterialist.

Biography

Berkeley attended Trinity College, Dublin, and was there from 1707 to 1713 teachers. At that time received in Ireland only a chair, who was also a theologian. The combination of research and religion seemed to Berkeley to meet inclinations. His belief in the efficacy of God led him to look at his writings as being directed against skeptics, freethinkers and atheists. His main works include the Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710 ) and Three Dialogues in between Hylas and Philonous (1713 ). He was friends with people like Joseph Addison, Alexander Pope, Richard Steele and Jonathan Swift. 1713 he went to London and traveled from there to Italy via France. There he watched the 1717 eruption of Vesuvius. He is best known for its plan to build on the Bermudas a mission school, which should react also by the example of a simple and natural life in Europe. From 1728 to 1731 he strove to realize this ambition: he traveled - after his marriage in 1728 - to Rhode Iceland, but waited in vain for the promised government support. There he wrote Alciphron ( 1732), a defense of Christianity against the freethinkers. After his return in 1734 Berkeley Bishop of Cloyne ( near Cork in Ireland). In the same year he published The Analyst, a critical examination of the foundations of science, which should significantly influence the development of mathematics in the following. He was 18 years Bishop of Cloyne, and died on January 14, 1753 in Oxford.

The town and the local university Berkeley in California are named after him.

Work

Berkeley published in 1710 - following the "Essay on a New Theory of Vision " ( 1709) - with 25 years of his second philosophical writing " A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge " In this document, he explained the two basic principles of its sensationalist approach: "There is something that is perceived. " ( esse est percipi ) and "There is something that perceives. " ( esse est percipere ). He also described in terms of the more society-wide prevailing Aristotelian- scholastic philosophy its conclusions from these principles and criticized Locke, whose philosophy at Trinity College dominated the teaching repertoire. Human conceptions ( ' ideas' ) are driven solely by perceiving ( a basic principle ). That which perceives - the other basic principle - he called the contemporary philosophical way of speaking following the "subject ", " mind ", " spirit ", " soul" and with a more modern term " myself ". Berkeley thus made a scarcely acknowledged in the public contribution to the discourse of the republic of letters of his time. It was then, among other things matter to develop fundamentally new concepts, leading out of the impasse of the mind-body dualism, as it were of the old scholastic philosophy, but also Descartes and Cartesian oriented philosophers. In particular, new research findings in medicine have shown that the dualistic way of thinking was inappropriate, explain this to understand.

Berkeley claimed - radical than Locke - that he neither the substance "matter" still held the substance "spirit" philosophically justifiable. "The existence of external things is their being perceived: esse est percipi. The spirit ... as such is unknowable. Its essence is in the ... Capture: esse est percipere. He is ... [ Berkeley ] ... not an idealist. Laws of nature are only characters. Categories such as matter, causality, substance and movement are expendable. " This sensationalistic approach was intended as part of the British Enlightenment by David Hume to its logical conclusion.

Berkeley was about his philosophical thoughts, a man of faith. Francis Bacon had proposed decades ago Berkeley to leave the faith on the one hand and scientific assumptions on the other hand their own individual world. They should be judged on how they took advantage of the community welfare. Science should - in contrast to the scholastic habit - work without relying on traditional authorities. Berkeley's religious conviction that - albeit completely unprovable and imperceptible - behind all human conceptions and scientific knowledge God help as a guarantee of their reliability, based on conclusions, which he held with regard to his faith for useful and reasonable. This left Berkeley still like many others in the mainstream of the Enlightenment. The majority of European philosophers of the Enlightenment - as Locke - joined philosophically justifiable views with their theological views.

A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge

This is the title of the publication of A Treatise Concerning the Principles ov Human Knowledge (1710 ) to which this section applies. In the preface Berkeley wrote: "I ask the reader so long to practice refraining from judgment until he has at least once read the whole thing so carefully and with any degree of careful consideration, which seems to require the subject. "

Quick recap Locke

Berkeley is always restores critical references to Locke. He calls him ' with an estimated legal philosophers ' (§ 11, Introduction) - Berkeley refers to the main Work: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. According to Locke, there are only individual things in the world, which are generally prepared by a multi-step process of abstraction: words are general, by become signs of general ideas and ideas are general in that they are abstracted from space and time, which general abstract ideas are created. With regard to the universals thus represents a nominalist Locke conceptualism (see universals ). Furthermore, Locke represents the prevailing philosophy in the epistemological dualism of matter and spirit, or ideas. The emergence of dualism is associated historically Plato. In contrast to Berkeley is indispensable for Locke matter. It serves Locke as ' anchor ' to the outside world, which is mapped as an idea in the mind (or ' double '):

This shows that Locke - in contrast to Berkeley - starting from Aristotelian- scholastic assumptions. He mentioned first and second Qualitätenund uses the copy theory. One can also describe him as a realist. The first qualities of matter guarantee the reliability of human ideas. The role of causality and continuity in the ideas of Locke adds basic idea that gained through experience ideas in a certain extent, are objective and true. In Berkeley 's ideas have only individual character. What is objective and true philosophy can not be exhibited. For Berkeley is his faith in God the guarantor of the reliability of his ideas.

Berkeley's view

One of Berkeley's main concern is the refutation of the concept of matter, in order to deprive atheism the ground.:

Berkeley may be called the counter - reconnaissance, because for him it is established to strengthen the concept of God from the beginning, and a very personal question begging forms. He confesses: "I am sure that there is a God, even though I do not perceive him." It belongs to the nature of the infinite, that there can not be comprehended by finite order to carry out his philosophical project, Berkeley, Locke's theory of reflection leads to ' a kind of idealism ' about. His main objection to the picture theory is that it makes no sense to speak of the thing in itself, because it is not understood. The other aspect of his objection against Locke is the indication that ideas are only ideas can be similar:

To your ideas but you can get just about perception:

It follows that Berkeley has the dualism of Locke, consisting of things as we perceive them and they really are overcome. As a result, the distinction between primary and secondary qualities, and thus also of the matter term is omitted ( see § § 8-11 ), which makes Berkeley under traditional philosophical categories to a Immaterialisten. In other words, people have no other access to the world than human ideas or ideas. In addition to human ideas of human knowledge to allow us to himself or our mind, spirit ... lead back. There are therefore two legs ( ' heads '), on which human knowledge is based: on something that perceives ( esse est percipere ) namely ourselves, and called on something that is perceived, namely, our ideas, even ideas:

Under a human mind ( spirit) Berkeley understands something active Unausgedehntes, indivisible, of substance that we collect only intuitively ( cf. § 3 ). We can form no conception of the mind, because it is not perceived. This intuitive idea of ourselves is the only substance in his philosophy ( see § § 2.7 and 27 ). You can have no idea of their own mind have ( because it is not noticeable ), but only an intuitive concept ( notion ) to the ideas perceiving mind called Berkeley mind ( understanding ), the ideas, however, producing spirit will (will). This he refers also to be God's image (cf. § 27). Ideas are passive, without their own activity, which can do nothing and that can exist only in the mind. Only the spirit, or each man himself can bring forth ideas and destroy ( see § § 25-28).

To prove the existence of unperceived things, is not possible. For something that is to be perceived. Berkeley explains:

But if he still say that things exist, even if he does not perceive it mean is this so:

No one can determine whether and what he wants to perceive. It is a conclusion - no perception - that all ideas of finite spirits of the infinite spirit (God) come from:

But that fact is no empirical evidence that what is represented outside of us is present. Even if human sensory stimuli can not escape, they have nothing more than their ideas. One can only conclude on the basis of their properties that they are not human -products, but are generated by a different spirit.

More

Also of note are his contributions to mathematics and economics. In his treatise The analyst: or a discourse Addressed to at infidel mathematician, he tries to show that the developed by Newton and Leibniz differential and integral calculus, although yields correct results, but based on logically dubious foundations.

In his essay querist (1737) he treated economic and social policy issues. Among other things, he made proposals for reform of the monetary system. The writing style is also remarkable because it consists exclusively of questioning concerns which are " not ... Whether " starts with "Whether ..." or.

Interpretations

Berkeley refers repeatedly to the inferred from it, that is suspected and believed by him personally existence of God. Some call him therefore as an objective idealist.

In relation to the problem of universals Berkeley is to certify extreme nominalism.

Heritage

• Hume the seventh chapter of his work Treatise of Human Nature begins with a tribute to Berkeley:

• Even the title of the main work of Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation, testifies to the influence of Berkeley. Schopenhauer Berkeley has repeatedly stated explicitly and praised for his work.
• Wittgenstein's philosophy has similarities with that of Berkeley, although he did not explicitly mentioned in many respects, Berkeley.
• Berkeley has founded no school of philosophy, but to elements found in Empiriocriticism and later in constructivism again.

Works

• Philosophical diary. Edited by Wolfgang Breidert. Philosophical Library, Volume 318 Meiner, Hamburg 1979, ISBN 978-3-7873-0476-9
• A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. Edited by Arend Kulenkampff. Philosophical Library, Volume 532 Meiner, Hamburg 2004, ISBN 978-3-7873-1638-0
• Alciphron and the little philosopher. Übers of Luise and Friedrich Raab. 2nd edition, Philosophical Library, Volume 502 Meiner, Hamburg 1996, ISBN 978-3-7873-1307-5
• Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous. Edited by Arend Kulenkampff. Philosophical Library, Volume 556 Meiner, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 978-3-7873-1669-4
• A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. - Stuttgart: Reclam, 2005 - ISBN 3-15-018343- X.
• The Works of George Berkeley. (Eds.: A. A. Luce & T. E. Jessop ). London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1948