By the time of Immanuel Kant, Berkeley had been called, among other things, a sceptic, an atheist, a solipsist, and an idealist. In our own day, however, the suggestion has been advanced that Berkeley is better understood if interpreted as a realist and man of common sense. Regardless of whether in the end one decides to treat him as a sub jective idealist or as a realist, I think it has become appropriate to inquire how Berkeley's own contemporaries viewed his philosophy. Heretofore the generally accepted account has been that they ignored him, roughly from the time he published the Principles of Human Knowledge until 1733 when Andrew Baxter's criticism appeared. The aim of the present study is to correct that account as well as to give some indication not only of the extent, but more importantly, the role and character of several of the earliest discussions. Secondarily, I have tried to give some clues as to the influence this early material may have had in forming the image of the "good" Bishop that emerged in the second half of the eighteenth century. For it is my hope that such clues may prove helpful in freeing us from the more severe strictures of the traditional interpretive dogmas.

By the time of Immanuel Kant, Berkeley had been caIled, among other things, a sceptic, an atheist, a solipsist, and an idealist. In our own day, however, the suggestion has been ad vanced that Berkeley is bett er understood if interpreted as a realist and man of common sense. Regardless of whether in the end one decides to treat hirn as a subjective idealist or as a re alist, I think it has become appropriate to inquire how Berkeley's own contemporaries viewed his philosophy. Heretofore the gen erally accepted account has been that they ignored hirn, roughly from the time he published the Principles 01 Human Knowledge until1733 when Andrew Baxter's criticism appeared. The aim of the present study is to correct that account as weIl as to give some indication not only of the extent, but more important, the role and character of several of the earliest discussions. Second arily, I have tried to give some clues as to the influence this early material may have had in forming the image of the "good" Bish op that emerged in the second half of the eighteenth century. For it is my hope that such clues may prove helpful in freeing us from the more severe strictures of the traditional interpretive dogmas.

George Berkeley is one of the greatest and most influential modern philosophers. In defending the immaterialism for which he is most famous, he redirected modern thinking about the nature of objectivity and the mind's capacity to come to terms with it. Along the way, he made striking and influential proposals concerning the psychology of the senses, the workings of language, the aim of science, and the scope of mathematics. In this Companion volume, a team of distinguished authors not only examines Berkeley's achievements, but also his neglected contributions to moral and political philosophy, his writings on economics and development, and his defense of religious commitment and religious life.

Exciting the Industry of Mankind is the first comprehensive book about George Berkeley's revolutionary views on money and banking. Berkeley broke the conceptual link between money and metallic substance in The Querist, a work published between 1735 and 1737 in Dublin, consisting entirely of questions. Exciting the Industry of Mankind explains what economic and social forces caused Berkeley to write The Querist in response to a major economic crisis in Ireland. Exciting the Industry of Mankind falsifies the view that Berkeley has nothing to tell us about our present and future social and economic life. For the `idealism' Berkeley found in the money form is now becoming a fact of global economic life, when `xenomoney' and `virtual money' exchanges begin to dwarf commodity transactions, and the future becomes the dominant temporal dimension of economic activity. Philosophers, historians, cultural theorists, economists and lovers of Irish history will be interested in this volume.

The Routledge Guidebook to Berkeley’s Three Dialogues is an engaging introduction to the last of a trio of works that cemented Berkeley’s position as one of the truly great philosophers of the western canon. Berkeley’s distinctive idealist philosophy has been a challenge and inspiration for thinkers ever since. Written for readers approaching this seminal work for the first time, this book: provides the philosophical context in which Three Dialogues was written; critically discusses the arguments in each of the Three Dialogues; and examines some of the principal disputes concerning the interpretation of his work. The Routledge Guidebook to Berkeley’s Three Dialogues offers a clear and comprehensive guide to this ground-breaking volume and includes further reading sections at the end of each chapter. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand this influential work.

Featuring a moment in late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century England before the disciplinary divisions that we inherit today were established, Empiricist Devotions recovers a kind of empiricist thinking in which the techniques and emphases of science, religion, and literature combined and cooperated. This brand of empiricism was committed to particularized scrutiny and epistemological modesty. It was Protestant in its enabling premises and meditative practices. It earnestly affirmed that figurative language provided crucial tools for interpreting the divinely written world. Smith recovers this empiricism in Robert Boyle’s analogies, Isaac Newton’s metaphors, John Locke’s narratives, Joseph Addison’s personifications, Daniel Defoe’s diction, John Gay’s periphrases, and Alexander Pope’s descriptive particulars. She thereby demonstrates that "literary" language played a key role in shaping and giving voice to the concerns of eighteenth-century science and religion alike. Empiricist Devotions combines intellectual history with close readings of a wide variety of texts, from sermons, devotional journals, and economic tracts to georgic poems, it-narratives, and microscopy treatises. This prizewinning book has important implications for our understanding of cultural and literary history, as scholars of the period’s science have not fully appreciated figurative language’s central role in empiricist thought, while scholars of its religion and literature have neglected the serious empiricist commitments motivating richly figurative devotional and poetic texts. Winner of the Walker Cowen Memorial Prize for an Outstanding Work of Scholarship in Eighteenth-Century Studies

Part of the “Longman Library of Primary Sources in Philosophy,” this edition of Berkeley's Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous is framed by a pedagogical structure designed to make this important work of philosophy more accessible and meaningful for readers. A General Introduction includes biographical information on Berkeley, the work's historical context, and a discussion of historical influences, and a conclusion discusses how the work has influenced other philosophers and why it is important today. Annotations and notes from the editor clarify difficult passages for greater understanding. A bibliography gives the reader additional resources for further study.

This volume sets Berkeley's philosophy in its historical context by providing selections from influential and contemporary works.

This text presents 17 of Nicholas Jolley's essays on early modern philosophy. They focus on two main themes: the debate over the nature of causality; and the issues posed by Descartes' innovations in the philosophy of mind. Together, they show that philosophers in the period are systematic critics of their contemporaries and predecessors.