Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous

by George Berkeley, David Hilbert, John Perry

Overview

Deeply original, inspiring to some, abhorrent to others, George Berkeley’s philosophy of immaterialism is still influential three hundred years after the publication of his most widely read book, Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous.  Berkeley published the Dialogues because of the unenthusiastic reception of his Principles of Human Knowledge in 1710.  He hoped the use of the dialogue format would win a more favorable hearing, but unfortunately for Berkeley, the response was every bit as scathing as the reception of his previous work. In recent decades, Berkeley’s work has been recognized as an excellent introduction to the English philosophy of the eighteenth century, and to philosophy in general.  This edition of the dialogues is accessibly organized by David Hilbert and John Perry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780941736053
Publisher:	Center for the Study of Language and Inf
Publication date:	03/15/2013
Series:	Great Books in Philosophy
Pages:	138
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

David Hilbert is a professor of Philosophy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. John Perry is professor emeritus in Philosophy at Stanford.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Why Study the Dialogues?

2.  Perception, Action, and the World

            2.1 Ideas vs Things

            2.2. Berkeley’s Concern with Skepticism

            2.3 The Move to Phenominalism

            2.4 Phenomenalism and Common Sense

3. Berkeley’s Alternatives

            3.1 Discontinuous Realism

            3.2 Continuous Realism

            3.3 Unsupported Phenomenalism

            3.4 Theistic Phenomenalism

            3.5 Interpreting Berkeley

4. Berkeley’s Life and Work

5. A Note on the Text

Selected Bibliography

The Dialogues

            Preface

            The First Dialogue

            The Second Dialogue            The Third Dialogue

Editorial Reviews

Among the most welcome and distinctive features of this new edition are the editor’s substantial and informative introduction, and also a helpful set of appendices, including passages from Locke that define Berkeley’s main target, a substantial correspondence with Samuel Johnson, and a set of interpretations and convergences in other eighteenth-century writings. Highly recommended for use in upper-level courses.” — Ernest Sosa, Board of Governors Professor, Rutgers University

“A very welcome addition to Berkeley studies is Dale Jacquette’s new edition of Berkeley’s Three Dialogues. Professor Jacquette’s introduction and annotations are extremely helpful, as is his inclusion of Berkeley’s letters to his American correspondent Samuel Johnson. … This book would be quite useful for general courses in Early Modern Philosophy, more advanced courses in Empiricism, and certainly for one devoted just to Berkeley.” — Richard Brook, Professor Emeritus, Bloomsburg University

From the Publisher

A very welcome addition to Berkeley studies is Dale Jacquette’s new edition of Berkeley’s Three Dialogues. Professor Jacquette’s introduction and annotations are extremely helpful, as is his inclusion of Berkeley’s letters to his American correspondent Samuel Johnson….This book would be quite useful for general courses in Early Modern Philosophy, more advanced courses in Empiricism, and certainly for one devoted just to Berkeley.

Richard Brook

Among the most welcome and distinctive features of this new edition are the editor’s substantial and informative introduction, and also a helpful set of appendices, including passages from Locke that define Berkeley’s main target, a substantial correspondence with Samuel Johnson, and a set of interpretations and convergences in other eighteenth-century writings. Highly recommended for use in upper-level courses.

Ernest Sosa