Locke, Berkeley, Hume: Central Themes

by Jonathan Francis Bennett

The thoughts of three philosophers on three topics: meaning, causality, and objectivity, are the focus of this study.

Genres: Philosophy

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Michael Norwitz]

Bennett's book is a standard reference for the three great historical empiricists, and any student of the movement will find it illuminating and worth reading.

It's primary failure is a rhetorical one. There are barely any opening or closing remarks; Bennett makes an insubstantial attempt to lay out the connection between these three thinkers or what overall lesson one is to learn from examining them. The reader is thrown (after a very few brief paragraphs) directly into a discussion of Locke's theory of meaning, and at the end a dissection of Hume's justification for enduring objects simply seems to stop. The book would have been much clearer had Bennett provided an opening and closing chapter to tie everything together.

[C]

Revolting

[Amy Do]

I don't think I understood much of this book so I don't feel qualified to rate it.