Philosophy Study Group

For this meeting we will spend our time discussing Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous by George Berkeley. First published in 1713, it has become a part of the traditional epistemological oeuvre.

It is no longer in copyright and is readily available, both as a new book (usually with commentary) or used or for free online. With respect to the latter, your best bet is probably Gutenberg.org where it is available in several formats. This book is relatively short and not difficult to read, so we will only spend one session on it.

This book is the good Bishop Berkeley's response to what he saw as the materialism of empiricists like John Locke. While no other philosopher ever endorsed his position, he is admired for his logical and coherent arguments which have made the book a classic. We will have our own dialogue about Berkeley's Dialogues and hope to be as logical and coherent as he was. Unfortunately, in spite of repeated attempts, we were unable to reach either Hylas or Philonous, so neither will be in attendance.