Among philosophers professing empirical and idealistic views, one of the most famous is George Berkeley. His father was an Englishman, but George considered himself an Irishman, since it was there, in the south of Ireland, that he was born in 1685. From the age of fifteen, the young man began the period of study in college, with which he will be connected one way or another for a long period of his life (until 1724). In 1704, Berkeley Jr. received a bachelor's degree, and after three years - a master's degree with the right to teach in the junior staff. A few years later he becomes a priest of the Anglican Church, and then - a doctor of philosophy and a senior teacher at the college.
Subjective idealism
Even in his youth, D. Berkeley, choosing between materialistic views and subjective idealism, took the side of the latter. He became a defender of religion and in his writings showed the dependence of a person’s perception of matter on how the soul (mind, consciousness) sees it and feels it, formed by God. Even in his youth, works were written that became significant for the development of philosophical thought and glorified the name - George Berkeley.
Philosophy and the search for truth have become the meaning of the life of the Irish thinker. Among his works are interesting: “The experience of a new theory of vision”, “A treatise on the principles of human knowledge”, “Three conversations between Gilas and Filonus”. By publishing a work on new vision, the young philosopher set himself the goal of belittling the importance of primary qualities, which prove independence from our consciousness and the reality of matter. In contrast to Descartes' theory of the extent of bodies, which had already gained popularity at that time, he reveals the dependence of the perception of distance, form and position of objects through vision. According to the philosopher, the connection between different sensations is an area of logic that is formed empirically.
Significant works of the philosopher
Among the works of the thinker there were various reflections, including those with a theological bias. But one of the most interesting works is The Three Dialogues of Gilas and Phylonus (George Berkeley - Philosophy), which can be summarized as follows: the author posed the question of metaphysical perception of the relativity of comprehension of reality, as well as phenomenalism. In The Movement, Berkeley disputes Newtonian views on an abstract understanding of motion. George's philosophical approach is that movement cannot be independent of space and time. Not only this concept was criticized by the philosopher, but also many other categories of Newton.
Two more works by Berkeley are also noteworthy: a conversation between freethinkers Alkifron and philosophical discussions about tar water, where he raises the issue of the medical benefits of tar, and also backs away from abstract philosophical and theological themes.
A family
The wife of the philosopher was Anna Forster - the judicial daughter (her father was the Irish supreme judge in litigation). It is worth noting George's light, friendly and cheerful character. He was loved by friends and acquaintances. He was soon in charge of an educational home, founded by a royal letter. His wife bore him seven children. However, in those days, many children did not live to an adult, conscious age due to illness. Only three survived at Berkeley, and the rest died.
When George Berkeley received the inheritance, he proposed to establish a school in Bermuda where pagans would be converted to Christianity. At first, the mission was strongly accepted and approved by the Parliament, as well as supported by aristocratic circles. However, when the missionary with his associates retired to the island, she was gradually forgotten. And without proper funding, the philosopher-scientist had to stop missionary work. Gradually, he leaves his business and spends more time with his son. George Berkeley lived sixty-seven years and died in 1752. The city of Berkeley in one of the states of America - California is named after him.
Berkeley Ontology
Under the influence of the worldview of the great philosopher, many thinkers, including Kant and Hume, fell. The main idea that Berkeley preached in his views was the significance of the sense of touch of the soul and the images formed by it. In other words, any perception of matter is a consequence of the perception of matter by the soul of man. His main doctrine was the theory of subjective idealism: “There is only me and my sensory perception of the world. Matter does not exist, there is only my subjective perception of it. God sends and shapes ideas, thanks to which a person feels everything in this world … ”
In the understanding of the philosopher, to exist is to perceive. The Berkeley ontology is the principle of solipsism. According to the thinker, the existence of other souls with a “final” form is just a plausible probable conclusion, the basis of which are analogies.
Inconsistency
However, in the teachings of the philosopher there is a certain inconsistency. For example, in the same substance of "I", he used the same arguments to criticize the material and to prove the indivisibility and unity of the beginning. However, his follower David Hume formalized these ideas into a theory where he transferred the concept of matter to the spiritual component: the individual “I” is a “bundle of perceptions”. One cannot help looking up from the materialistic view when you study the works written by the philosopher George Berkeley.
The quotations of the theologian and thinker inspire the idea of the eternity and significance of God in human life, its dependence on the Almighty. However, at the same time you come across some inconsistency and inconsistency in Berkeley's works, which is revealed in the critical statements of many philosophers.
Continentality and Berkeley Philosophy
Berkeley came to the conclusion that there is a God who alone gives rise to sensations in people's souls. In his opinion, a person does not have power over his feelings, even if he thinks so. After all, if a person opens his eyes and sees the light - it does not depend on his will, or hears a bird - this is not his will either. He cannot choose between “vision” and “not vision”, which means that there is a different will, of a higher level, which produces feelings and sensations in a person.
Studying the works that George Berkeley wrote, some researchers came to the conclusions (which, however, are not conclusively confirmed, but have the right to exist) that the views of the philosopher are based on the theory of Malbranche. This makes it possible to consider D. Berkeley an Irish Cartesian, rejecting the presence of empiricism in his teaching. Since 1977, a journal-newsletter in honor of the great philosopher has been published in Ireland.
