Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous Overview
Originally published in 1713, Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous is a set of philosophical dialogues, inspired by Plato's accounts of Socrates, in which George Berkeley presents his infamous theory that there are no material objects. In the course of three dialogues, Philonous - a stand-in for Berkeley - attacks the philosophical systems of most major philosophers of the modern era while attempting to convince Hylas - a symbol for the intellectual mainstream of the time - that common sense actually demands that we reject the idea of matter. A central text in modern philosophy both for the sophistication of its arguments and the radical nature of its thesis, the Three Dialogues exposes dogmas in philosophy, science, religion, and theology and criticizes empty abstraction and theorizing. In place of these long-held beliefs, the dialogues suggest persuasive new ideas about the nature of our perception, our immediate contact with God, the relationship between experience and reason, the purpose of philosophy, and the ultimate structure of reality.
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Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous Study Guide
Project Gutenberg eBooks (1)
41,330 words, approx. 138 pages
Title: Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous,
in Opposition to Sceptics and Atheists
Author: George Berkeley
Release Date: Secember, 2003 [Etext #4724] [Yes,
we are more than o...
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George Berkeley Biographies (6)
803 words, approx. 3 pages
Anglican bishop George Berkeley (1685-1753) developed a unique type of idealism based on an empirically oriented attack on abstract philosophizing combined with a defense of immaterialism.Although bor...
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3,499 words, approx. 12 pages
Bishop Berkeley is undoubtedly more important to the history of philosophy than to American literary and cultural history. Nevertheless, his interest in America and his influence on American thought a...
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5,339 words, approx. 18 pages
George Berkeley is best known for his denial of matter and for a series of arguments which, according to David Hume, "admit of no answer and produce no conviction." James Boswell offered a similar ass...
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10,386 words, approx. 35 pages
According to John Stuart Mill, George Berkeley made "three first-rate philosophical discoveries, each sufficient to have constituted a revolution in psychology, and which by their combination have det...
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683 words, approx. 3 pages
Philosopher George Berkeley was born at Dysert Castle, near Thomastown, Ireland, on March 12, 1685. He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, with a Bachelor of Arts in 1704 and was elected a fellow ...
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894 words, approx. 3 pages
Born in the same year as the great composers Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Frideric Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti, Berkeley was one of the seminal figures in Western philosophy, his doctrines exerting...
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