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.

The context of Berkeley's Three dialogues -- The sceptical challenge -- The nature of the sensible I -- The nature of the sensible II -- The existence and activity of God -- The rejection of theistic materialism -- A world in flux? -- Mind and morality.

Introduces and assesses Berkeley's life and the background to the Principles, the ideas and text in the Principles, Berkeley's continuing importance to philosophy. Essential reading for students coming to Berkeley for the first time.

George Berkeley is one of the most prominent philosophers of the eighteenth century. His Principles of Human Knowledge has become a focal point in the understanding of empiricist thought and the development of eighteenth century philosophy. This volume introduces and assesses: * Berkeley's life and the background to the Principles * The ideas and text in the Principles * Berkeley's continuing importance to philosophy.

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.

Berkeley uses the Socratic mode of inquiry in "Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous" to question fundamental beliefs about knowledge and reality. These dialogues are between Hylas (whose name is derived from the ancient Greek word for matter) and Philonous, whose name means "lover of mind." The new physical sciences developed in the seventeenth century supported the materialism proposed by Thomas Hobbes and several other philosophers. This worldview proclaimed that all of reality consists of nothing but matter in motion, thus promoting atheism and ethical skepticism. The implications for politics, ethics, and religion caused concern among leading intellectuals in the eighteenth century. Whatever the value of the positive claims presented in this work, Berkeley foreshadows the philosophical impact of twentieth century physics, which challenges the foundations of such materialism and calls for a better understanding of both the physical and the mental aspects of reality. Berkeley was born in Ireland where he served as Bishop of Cloyne (Dublin). He published works in philosophy, mathematics, science, and religion. His other works include the "Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge" and "An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision". He is one of the central figures in the tradition known as Empiricism.

The Oxford Handbook of Berkeley is a compendious examination of a vast array of topics in the philosophy of George Berkeley (1685-1753), Anglican Bishop of Cloyne, the famous idealist and most illustrious Irish philosopher. Berkeley is best known for his denial of the existence of material substance and his insistence that the only things that exist in the universe are minds (including God) and their ideas; however, Berkeley was a polymath who contributed to a variety of different disciplines, not well distinguished from philosophy in the eighteenth century, including the theory and psychology of vision, the nature and functioning of language, the debate over infinitesimals in mathematics, political philosophy, economics, chemistry (including his favoured panacea, tar-water), and theology. This volume includes contributions from thirty-four expert commentators on Berkeley's philosophy, some of whom provide a state-of-the-art account of his philosophical achievements, and some of whom place his philosophy in historical context by comparing and contrasting it with the views of his contemporaries (including Mandeville, Collier, and Edwards), as well as with philosophers who preceded him (such as Descartes, Locke, Malebranche, and Leibniz) and others who succeeded him (such as Hume, Reid, Kant, and Shepherd).