George Berkeley
British Empiricism · Europe · 1685 to 1753
Irish bishop who argued that things exist only when a mind perceives them.
What it is
George Berkeley (1685 to 1753) was an Irish philosopher and bishop who argued that nothing exists apart from minds and their ideas, so that to be is to be perceived, and who rejected the idea of matter that exists unperceived. He is one of the three famous British empiricists, with Locke and Hume, and he is best known for the most surprising metaphysical view in that tradition, which he called immaterialism.
He was born near Kilkenny in Ireland and entered Trinity College, Dublin, at the age of fifteen. He was made a bishop, of Cloyne, in 1734. His best-known books came early: An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision in 1709, A Treatise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge in 1710 and Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous in 1713. In later years he tried to found a college in Bermuda and spent several years in Rhode Island waiting for funds that did not arrive.
The main ideas
- To be is to be perceived. His motto, esse est percipi, sums up the view: the things we call physical objects are ideas that depend on being perceived by a mind.
- Idealism and immaterialism. Everything that exists is either a mind or depends on a mind for its existence, and matter, as something that exists apart from any perceiver, does not exist.
- Against abstract ideas. He held that the supposed power of the mind to form a general idea with no particular detail, such as a triangle that is neither large nor small, causes much philosophical confusion. He thought, following Locke's own account, that such ideas cannot really be formed.
- Against scepticism. He argued that believing in matter hidden behind our experience leads to scepticism, since we could never know what that matter is like. If objects are just what we perceive, there is nothing hidden to doubt.
- Common sense. He presented his view as a defence of ordinary life. When he speaks of physical objects, he speaks as ordinary people do.
- How we see distance. In his essay on vision he argued that we judge distance by learning to connect what we see with what we feel, not by tacit geometry.
What it looks like in practice
Picture someone looking at a red apple on a table and being asked what exactly is there apart from the colour they see, the smoothness they would feel and the sweetness they would taste. Berkeley's challenge is to find anything else. If every answer is a way of being perceived, then the apple is a bundle of such experiences and not a hidden thing behind them. This is an illustration of the argument, not a passage from his books.
Books and moments
- An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision (1709) was an influential contribution to the psychology of vision.
- A Treatise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710) sets out his main argument.
- Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (1713) puts the same argument as a conversation between a defender of matter and a defender of his own view.
- The Bermuda project was his attempt to found a college in Bermuda.
Questions and criticism
- Is it plausible? His system strikes many readers as counter-intuitive, and many of his first readers met it with incomprehension. His defenders say it is strong and flexible against most objections.
- What makes two people see the same thing? If an object is a collection of ideas, it is fair to ask what makes your ideas and mine count as ideas of one and the same object.
- Does it defend common sense or undermine it? He said his view agrees with how ordinary people speak, but it denies what many think is obvious, that matter exists.
Close neighbours
Berkeley was a critic of Locke, so the page on Locke is the best companion, and the page on Hume shows the next step in the same empiricist line.
Written by epchē in our own words, and checked against independent sources on 9 October 2026. The sources are listed below.
Philosophies they belong to or are close to
Who they connect to
Influenced
- David Hume · Hume built on Berkeley's arguments against unobserved substance.
Influenced by
- Nicolas Malebranche · Berkeley knew Malebranche's work well and shared his doubts about material substance.
Reacted against
- John Locke · Berkeley attacked Locke's idea of matter as a substance beyond experience.
Reacted against by
- Thomas Reid · Reid attacked the way of ideas that led Berkeley to deny matter.
Runs parallel to
- Vasubandhu · Both argue that what we call outer objects are best understood as depending on the mind. (scholars disagree about this link)
Other British Empiricism thinkers
- Francis Bacon · 1561 to 1626
- John Locke · 1632 to 1704
- Bernard Mandeville · 1670 to 1733
- Earl of Shaftesbury · 1671 to 1713
- Joseph Butler · 1692 to 1752
- David Hume · 1711 to 1776
Sources we used
- George Berkeley · Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, read on 9 October 2026
- Berkeley, George · Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, read on 9 October 2026