Berkeley on Unperceived Objects and the Publicity of Language
Citation:
Pearce, K.L., Berkeley on Unperceived Objects and the Publicity of Language, History of Philosophy Quarterly, 34, 3, 2017, 231 - 250Download Item:
Abstract:
Berkeley’s immaterialism aims to undermine Descartes’s skeptical
arguments by denying that the connection between sensory perception
and reality is contingent. However, this seems to undermine Berkeley’s
(alleged) defense of commonsense by failing to recognize the existence
of objects not presently perceived by humans. I argue that this problem
can be solved by means of two neglected Berkeleian doctrines: the
status of the world as “a most coherent, instructive, and entertaining
Discourse” which is ‘spoken’ by God (Siris, § 254) and the nature of
language as a public social practice. Together these doctrines entail that
ordinary physical objects, including those that are not presently
perceived, are a joint product of divine discursive activity and human
interpretive activity.
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Author: Pearce, Kenneth
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Journal ArticleCollections
Series/Report no:
History of Philosophy Quarterly;34;
3;
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Full text availableKeywords:
George Berkeley, René Descartes, Skepticism, Commonsense, LanguageSubject (TCD):
George Berkeley , History of Philosophy , Philosophy of Language , metaphysical idealismMetadata
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