Berkeley

by David Berman

Philosophy is one of the most intimidating and difficult of disciplines, as any of its students can attest. This book is an important entry in a distinctive new series from Routledge: The Great Philosophers. Breaking down obstacles to understanding the ideas of history's greatest thinkers, these brief, accessible, and affordable volumes offer essential introductions to the great philosophers of the Western tradition from Plato to Wittgenstein.
In just 64 pages, each author, a specialist on his subject, places the philosopher and his ideas into historical perspective. Each volume explains, in simple terms, the basic concepts, enriching the narrative through the effective use of biographical detail. And instead of attempting to explain the philosopher's entire intellectual history, which can be daunting, this series takes one central theme in each philosopher's work, using it to unfold the philosopher's thoughts.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Frightful_elk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly good introduction to Berkeley's ideals and philosophies. A good general grounding to his work, and a look at all of his writings.

[Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una introducción apretadísima a lo que el autor considera central de los escritos de Berkeley. Uno de esos nodos es que el mundo mental, el reactivo en el que se imprimen las experiencias sensoriales, es un escenario más de la realidad y que si pudiera ser dividido en capas discretas el mundo exterior sería inconciliable entre cada una de ellas.

El experimento mental como método, la deseabilidad de una filosofía que excluya el lenguaje, el desinterés total en la comunicabilidad de las experiencias como algo necesario para que sean fructíferas, son algunos de los puntos más o menos originales y propios de GB que este libro resalta bien. Quizás omite otros, pero no estoy en condiciones de señalarlo.

[Einzige · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book by one of the leading scholars on Berkeley, but with a misleading title, this work isn't an overview of Berkeley or even an investigation into his specific ideas and critiques. Instead it is a look into the methods Berkeley applied to reach his ideas - emphasising the psychological aspects and demonstrating how it was a genuinely empirical process.

Also it shows the extreme lengths Berkeley would go to investigate the world - both visiting Mt Vesuvius up close during an eruption and having people literally hang him to induce a near death experience - real science.