A Treatise Concerning The Principles of Human Knowledge

In his "Principles of Human Knowledge" Berkeley makes the striking claim that physical things consist of nothing but ideas, and so do not exist outside the mind. This establishes Berkeley as the founder of the idealist tradition in philosophy. Berkeley argues vigorously that once we correct our understanding of the physical, we can find a new proof of the existence of God, refute skeptical attacks on human knowledge, and resolve many difficulties and paradoxes raised by the advance of science. The text printed in this volume is 1734 edition of the “Principles” which is generally agreed to represent Berkeley’s mature thought. This exciting new series consists of major philosophical texts in the history of philosophy from the ancient world up to modern times. Each volume, issued in a uniform and economical format, uses the most authoritative edition of the text available. Authoritative and practical, the Cosmo Western Classics series aims to build up a definitive corpus of key texts in the Western philosophical tradition which will form a reliable and enduring resource and reference for years to come.