A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge
Berkeley set out to defend common sense and religion by way of one of the most startling claims in all of philosophy: that matter does not exist, and that to be is to be perceived. Everything we call the physical world, he argues, is really a collection of ideas in minds, held in being by the mind of God. Far from a mere paradox, the case is pressed with great rigor against Locke and the materialists, and it forced later thinkers from Hume to Kant to answer him. Clear and surprisingly readable, it is the classic statement of idealism in the English language. First published in 1710. Free to download as a PDF or EPUB.
About the Author
George Berkeley (1685-1753) was an Irish philosopher and bishop, one of the three great British empiricists alongside Locke and Hume. His idealist claim that reality exists only as perception remains among the most debated positions in philosophy, and the city of Berkeley, California, bears his…
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A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710) is a public domain work.
| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Front Matter/Preface | 4:46 | |
| 2 | Introduction | 45:56 | |
| 3 | Sections 1 to 14 | 19:32 | |
| 4 | Sections 15 to 29 | 16:40 | |
| 5 | Sections 30 to 44 | 18:07 | |
| 6 | Sections 45 to 59 | 20:51 | |
| 7 | Sections 60 to 70 | 14:33 | |
| 8 | Sections 71 to 84 | 15:29 | |
| 9 | Sections 85 to 99 | 14:55 | |
| 10 | Sections 100 to 114 | 22:05 | |
| 11 | Sections 115 to 129 | 23:00 | |
| 12 | Sections 130 to 144 | 15:54 | |
| 13 | Sections 145 to 156 | 18:30 |
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