Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #317084 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From the Back Cover
The Routledge Philosophy GuideBooks painlessly introduce students to the classic works of philosophy. Each GuideBook considers a major philosopher and a key area of their philosophy by focusing upon an important text - situating the philosopher and the work in a historical context, considering the text in question and assessing the philosopher's contribution to contemporary thought.

George Berkeley is one of the most prominent philosophers of the eighteenth century. His Principles of Human Knowledge has been a focal point in the understanding of empiricist thought and the development of eighteenth-century philosophy.
Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge introduces and assesses:
Berkeley's life and the background of the Principles
The systematic development of the ideas in the Principles
Berkeley's continuing importance to philosophy.
Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge is essential reading for all students coming to Berkeley for the first time.

Customer Reviews

First-rate guide to Berkeley's 'Principles'
Berkeley's 1710 'Principles of Human Knowledge' is the classic statement of British idealism (or immaterialism), and while Berkeley was probably as good a writer as any English-speaking philosopher ever was, it's a text that can cause students problems. Sometimes readers take Berkeley for a dreamer, a complete sceptic or someone who didn't believe in ordinary physical objects. So there's a real niche for a book that introduces Berkeley properly and guards students against mistaken views like the above. Fogelin's guide to Berkeley's 'Principles of Human Knowledge' is an excellent introduction. In ten short but comprehensive chapters, Fogelin introduces Berkeley's context, offers a detailed breakdown of Berkeley's arguments and relates Berkeley usefully to modern philosophy. If you're at all interested in Berkeley, Fogelin's book would be worth buying if only for the concluding sections on Berkeley, Wittgenstein and solipsism - if you're studying Berkeley, this book ought to be a must-have. (Especially recommended for use with Jonathan Dancy's edition of the 'Principles' in the Oxford Philosophical Texts series.)