The Moral Philosophy of George Berkeley

Upon the whole, I am inclined to think that the far greater part, if not all, of those difficulties which have hitherto amused philosophers, and blocked up the way to knowledge, are entirely owing to our selves. That we have 1 first raised a dust, and then complain, we cannot see. . . . there are some passages that, taken by themselves, are very liable (nor could it be remedied) to gross misinterpretation, and to be charged with most absurd consequences, which, nevertheless, upon an entire perusal will 2 appear not to follow from them. In an effort to comply with these excellent principles of Berkeley's, I have tried to avoid complex language throughout this book, and to give all of his works the careful scrutiny he urges in order to avoid misplaced emphasis and quoting out of context. George Berkeley waS born in Dysert Castle, Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1685. He is among the best known of Western philosophers, but a brief sketch of the high points of his life might nonetheless be of some interest. His father William Berkeley was related to Lord Berkeley of Stratton, who was the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1670 to 1672. His mother was probably related to General Wolfe, the conqueror of Montcalm in Canada. He was educated at Kilkenny School, and at Trinity College, Dublin, where he received Bachelor's and Master's degrees in 1704 and 1707 respectively.

I: The language of the Author of Nature.- 1. The Nature of the Metaphor.- 2. Signs and Symbols, Suggestion and Judgment.- 3. Further Development, and Natural Laws.- 4. A Theory of Truth, and Natural Laws.- II: Utilitarian and Rule-Utilitarian Elements in Berkeley's Normative Ethics.- 1. Kinds of Pleasures and Pains, and the Moral End of Man.- 2. Passive Obedience and Moral Rules.- 3. Two Kinds of Moral Rules, and some Theological Implications.- 4. Some Rule-Utilitarian Elements.- 5. A Preliminary Summing-Up.- III: Ethical Acts and Free Will.- 1. Acts and Consequences.- 2. Free Will.- 3. Other Evidence, Guilt, and Comments.- 4. Preliminary Conclusions.- IV: The Role of God and the Definition of Good.- 1. The Necessary Argument.- 2. The Probable Argument.- 3. Another Kind of Evidence, and the Meaning of "Good"..- 4. Criticisms.- V: Berkeley and the Emotive Uses of Ethical Language.- 1. Abstract General Ideas and the "Familiar" Uses of Words.- 2. More About Berkeley's Theory of Truth.- 3. An Important Passage and a Working Example.- VI: Berkeley and Shaftesbury.- 1. Shaftesbury's Ethical System.- 2. More about Moral Sense, and Enthusiasm.- 3. Berkeley versus Shaftesbury.- VII: Berkeley and Mandeville.- 1. Mandeville's Theory of Social Ethics and Human Nature.- 2. Berkeley versus Mandeville.- VIII: The Deists.- 1. The Principles of Deism.- 2. Some Individual Deists.- IX: Peter Browne, Berkeley, and the Deists.- 1. Peter Browne and Analogical Arguments.- 2. Browne and Berkeley.- 3. Berkeley versus the Deists.- X: Conclusion.- 1. Moral Philosophy.- 2. Did Berkeley have a Moral philosophy?.- 3. Some General Criticisms.