This edition provides texts from the full range of Berkeley's contributions to philosophy, and sets them in their historical and philosophical contexts.

A comprehensive intellectual biography of the Enlightenment philosopher In George Berkeley: A Philosophical Life, Tom Jones provides a comprehensive account of the life and work of the preeminent Irish philosopher of the Enlightenment. From his early brilliance as a student and fellow at Trinity College Dublin to his later years as Bishop of Cloyne, Berkeley brought his searching and powerful intellect to bear on the full range of eighteenth-century thought and experience. Jones brings vividly to life the complexities and contradictions of Berkeley’s life and ideas. He advanced a radical immaterialism, holding that the only reality was minds, their thoughts, and their perceptions, without any physical substance underlying them. But he put forward this counterintuitive philosophy in support of the existence and ultimate sovereignty of God. Berkeley was an energetic social reformer, deeply interested in educational and economic improvement, including for the indigenous peoples of North America, yet he believed strongly in obedience to hierarchy and defended slavery. And although he spent much of his life in Ireland, he followed his time at Trinity with years of travel that took him to London, Italy, and New England, where he spent two years trying to establish a university for Bermuda, before returning to Ireland to take up an Anglican bishopric in a predominantly Catholic country. Jones draws on the full range of Berkeley’s writings, from philosophical treatises to personal letters and journals, to probe the deep connections between his life and work. The result is a richly detailed and rounded portrait of a major Enlightenment thinker and the world in which he lived.

Embark on a journey through the philosophical musings of one of the greatest thinkers of the 18th century with George Berkeley's enlightening collection, "Philosophical Works Including the Works on Vision." Step into the world of idealism and metaphysics as Berkeley challenges conventional wisdom and invites readers to question the nature of reality itself. In this comprehensive anthology, readers will encounter Berkeley's groundbreaking treatises on perception, consciousness, and the nature of existence, as well as his influential writings on vision and optics. Themes of perception, reality, and the nature of consciousness permeate Berkeley's philosophical works, inviting readers to contemplate the fundamental questions of existence and the limits of human understanding. From his famous theory of immaterialism to his insights into the nature of vision and sensation, Berkeley's writings continue to captivate and inspire readers with their depth and clarity. Through rigorous argumentation and careful analysis, Berkeley challenges readers to reconsider their assumptions about the world around them and to embrace a more nuanced understanding of perception and reality. His writings on vision, in particular, offer a fascinating glimpse into the workings of the human mind and the ways in which our perceptions shape our understanding of the world. The overall tone of the collection is one of intellectual curiosity and philosophical inquiry, as Berkeley encourages readers to engage critically with his ideas and to think deeply about the nature of existence and consciousness. With its blend of rigorous scholarship and thought-provoking speculation, "Philosophical Works Including the Works on Vision" offers a comprehensive overview of Berkeley's philosophical thought. "Philosophical Works Including the Works on Vision" has earned widespread acclaim for its profound insights, meticulous scholarship, and enduring relevance to contemporary philosophical debates. Critics and readers alike have praised Berkeley's clarity of thought and his ability to address complex philosophical questions with precision and insight. Whether you're a student of philosophy, a lover of intellectual inquiry, or simply curious about the nature of reality and perception, "Philosophical Works Including the Works on Vision" offers a thought-provoking journey through the mind of one of history's greatest philosophers. Grab your copy now and prepare to be challenged, inspired, and enlightened by Berkeley's timeless wisdom.

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 aims 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. The volume places Berkeley's achievements in the context of the many social and intellectual traditions - philosophical, scientific, ethical, and religious - to which he fashioned a distinctive response.

George Berkeley (1685–1753) was a university teacher, a missionary, and later a Church of Ireland bishop. The over-riding objective of his long philosophical career was to counteract objections to religious belief that resulted from new philosophies associated with the Scientific Revolution. Accordingly, he argued against scepticism and atheism in the Principles and the Three Dialogues; he rejected theories of force in the Essay on Motion; he offered a new theory of meaning for religious language in Alciphron; and he modified his earlier immaterialism in Siris by speculating about the body's influence on the soul. His radical empiricism and scientific instrumentalism, which rejected the claims of the sciences to provide a realistic interpretation of phenomena, are still influential today. This edition provides texts from the full range of Berkeley's contributions to philosophy, together with an introduction by Desmond M. Clarke that sets them in their historical and philosophical contexts.