Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous
Aug 2012 · Agora Publications, Inc.
Ebook
153
Pages
About this ebook
·
Description: Berkeley uses the Socratic mode of
inquiry in Three Dialogues between Hylas
and Philonous to question fundamental beliefs about knowledge and reality.
These dialogues are between Hylas (whose name is derived from the ancient Greek
word for matter) and Philonous, whose name means “lover of mind.” The new
physical sciences developed in the seventeenth century supported the
materialism proposed by Thomas Hobbes and several other philosophers. This
worldview proclaimed that all of reality consists of nothing but matter in
motion, thus promoting atheism and ethical skepticism. The implications for
politics, ethics, and religion caused concern among leading intellectuals in
the eighteenth century. Whatever the value of the positive claims presented in
this work, Berkeley foreshadows the philosophical impact of twentieth century
physics, which challenges the foundations of such materialism and calls for a
better understanding of both the physical and the mental aspects of reality.
Description: Berkeley uses the Socratic mode of
inquiry in Three Dialogues between Hylas
and Philonous to question fundamental beliefs about knowledge and reality.
These dialogues are between Hylas (whose name is derived from the ancient Greek
word for matter) and Philonous, whose name means “lover of mind.” The new
physical sciences developed in the seventeenth century supported the
materialism proposed by Thomas Hobbes and several other philosophers. This
worldview proclaimed that all of reality consists of nothing but matter in
motion, thus promoting atheism and ethical skepticism. The implications for
politics, ethics, and religion caused concern among leading intellectuals in
the eighteenth century. Whatever the value of the positive claims presented in
this work, Berkeley foreshadows the philosophical impact of twentieth century
physics, which challenges the foundations of such materialism and calls for a
better understanding of both the physical and the mental aspects of reality.
About the author
Berkeley was born in Ireland where he served as Bishop of Cloyne (Dublin). He published works in philosophy, mathematics, science, and religion. His other works include the Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge and An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision. He is one of the central figures in the tradition known as Empiricism.
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