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Philosophy

2004

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All Volumes (2001-2008)

Philosophy; George Berkeley; idealism; empiricism

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Berkeley’S Idealist Theory Of Knowledge And Whether Or Not Empiricism Can Lead To Idealism, Stacey Macpherson Jan 2004

Berkeley’S Idealist Theory Of Knowledge And Whether Or Not Empiricism Can Lead To Idealism, Stacey Macpherson

All Volumes (2001-2008)

George Berkeley is perhaps one of the most unique and intriguing figures in the history of modern philosophy. Dissatisfied with and angered by the materialist philosophies of his contemporaries, especially the ideas of John Locke,
Berkeley called for a return to "common sense." But "common sense," for Berkeley, involved not just a skeptical view of materialism, but the assertion that the material world does not exist at all! Berkeley utilizes persuasive logical arguments and empiricist principles in order to refute the existence of matter. However, when he attempts to account for what does exist, he makes a startling claim which …