“Their esse is percipi, nor is it possible they should have any existence out of the minds or thinking things which perceive them.”
George Berkeley · Idealism / Empiricism
knowledgemind
Well attested
Philosopher
Last reviewed:
George Berkeley
1685–1753 · Idealism / Empiricism · Enlightenment
George Berkeley was an Irish philosopher and Anglican bishop of Cloyne. He argued that the idea of matter existing outside all minds makes no sense: what we call a table is a collection of ideas, and for such things to exist is to be perceived. Things continue when we look away because God perceives them.
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He attacked abstract general ideas, criticised Newton's calculus in The Analyst, and wrote an early theory of vision. He took himself to be defending common sense against sceptics, not denying that tables are real.
One well attested card.
Start here
Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, first dialogue.
The argument as conversation.
Quotations
Key ideas
Esse est percipi
For ordinary things, to be is to be perceived.
Against matter
Mind-independent matter is an empty notion.
God as perceiver
The order and constancy of the world come from God.
Major works
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710)
The main argument.
Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (1713)
The popular version.
Influences
Influenced
Common misreadings
- He does not say things vanish when you leave the room.
- Samuel Johnson kicking a stone does not refute him; the stone's hardness is a perception too.
Famous lines George Berkeley never said
None of the lines this library files for George Berkeley is marked Questionable or Misattributed. That is only a fact about these cards. It is not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
FAQ
What is the best book to start with?
Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, first dialogue. The argument as conversation.
What is the most famous quote?
This library does not measure fame, and it does not rank lines by how often they are shared. The first line it files for George Berkeley that is not marked Questionable or Misattributed is “Their esse is percipi, nor is it possible they should have any existence out of the minds or thinking things which perceive them.” (A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, §3, Well attested).
What is the most misquoted line?
None of the lines this library files for George Berkeley is marked Misattributed or Questionable. That is a fact about these cards, not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
What is one key idea, in a sentence?
Esse est percipi: For ordinary things, to be is to be perceived.