Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous

by George Berkeley

Publishers:

Open Court; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.

, 1906

Overview

In Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, Berkeley sets up a Socratic dialogue between his own idealist views, in the person of Philonous (“lover of mind”), and the more Lockean views of Hylas (“matter”). Philonous argues that, while it is common sense to assume that the objects you perceive are real, it is against common sense to assume that those objects exist independent of perception. Through Philonous, Berkeley puts forward his “master argument.” The argument is essentially that it is impossible truly to conceive of an object outside of the mind because in the very act of trying to conceive of that object it is in the mind.

Berkeley also puts forward his theory that God is the perceptive mind that is always present and, therefore, is the mind that gives sensible qualities to objects. God groups various perceptions together. For example, humans experience the perception “touching water” and “feeling wet” at the same time. These patterns of perception are the subject of scientific study and described as laws of nature. However, they are not qualities which are inherent to an abstract material object. They are only assigned to objects by the mind of God.

This volume is linked with the other texts in your Logos library, allowing you to cross-reference important words with a click. This is particularly helpful, as philosophers were in constant dialogue with each other’s works—critiquing, supporting. Now you can see the cited works in context in seconds. Moreover, every word is indexed for remarkably fast searching. Search results show up with a helpful context snippet, so you can quickly get the reference you’re looking for.

Key Features

• Utilizes a Socratic dialogue to present the case for Berkeley’s views in opposition to Locke’s
• Presents Berkeley’s theory on the presence of God as the perceptive mind

Product Details

• Title: Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous
• Author: George Berkeley
• Editor: Thomas J. McCormack
• Publisher: The Open Court Publishing Company
• Publication Date: 1906
• Pages: 136
• Resource Type: Topical
• Topic: Empirical Philosophy

About George Berkeley

George Berkeley, also known as Bishop Berkeley, was an Anglo-Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called “immaterialism” (later referred to as “subjective idealism” by others). This theory denies the existence of material substance and instead contends that familiar objects like tables and chairs are only ideas in the minds of perceivers, and as a result cannot exist without being perceived.