Berkeley's Thought / George S. Pappas.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pappas, George S., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Berkeley, George, 1685-1753.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 261 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In this highly original account of Bishop George Berkeley's epistemological and metaphysical theories, George S. Pappas seeks to determine precisely what doctrines the philosopher held and what arguments he put forward to support them. Specifically, Pappas overturns accepted opinions about Berkeley's famous attack on the Lockean doctrine of abstract ideas. Berkeley's criticism of these ideas had been thought relevant only to his views on language and to his nominalism; Pappas persuasively argues that Berkeley's ideas about abstraction are crucial to nearly all of the fundamental principles that he defends.Pappas demonstrates how an adequate appreciation of Berkeley's views on abstraction can lead to an improved understanding of his important principle of esse is percipi, and of the arguments Berkeley proposes in support of this principle. Pappas also takes up Berkeley's widely rejected claim to be a philosopher of common sense. He assesses the validity of this self-description and considers why Berkeley might have chosen to align himself with a commonsense position. Pappas shows how three core concepts-abstraction, perception, and common sense-are central to and interdependent in the work of one of the major figures of early modern Western thought.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

1. Scope and Method

2. The Importance of Abstraction

3. Abstract Ideas

4. Existence, Abstraction, and Heterogeneity

5. The Esse Is Percipi Principle

6. Perception

7. Commonsense Realism

8. Common Sense

9. Scepticism

Bibliography and Cited Works

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-258) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 30. Apr 2019)

ISBN:

1-5017-2931-4

OCLC:

1132225984