Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (Broadview Editions) - Softcover

Berkeley, George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551119889 ISBN 13: 9781551119885

Publisher: Broadview Press, 2012

Synopsis

This is a new critical edition of Berkeley’s 1734 (third edition, first 1713) Three Dialogues, a text that is deservedly one of the most challenging and beloved classics of modern philosophy. The heart of the work is the dispute between materialism and idealism, two fundamentally opposed positions that are embodied by Hylas and Philonous, the characters in this philosophical drama. The book is packed with brilliant arguments and counter-arguments of an extraordinarily sophisticated nature. Amid all this philosophical swordplay one would think that there could be scant room for the characters to develop any sort of personality. Yet in Berkeley’s hands, and with his literary gifts, the interlocutors are both vivid and funny.

The dialogue deals with some of the most important perennial problems of philosophy, including: the materialism-idealism dispute, skepticism in rationalist and empiricist epistemology, the conflict over apriorism and aposteriorism, rationalism versus empiricism, the existence and nature of God, the philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, abstract general ideas, the role of perception in human knowledge, and the metaphysics of causation.

This edition combines a usefully annotated version of Berkeley’s complete original text with a substantial critical introduction, a chronology of events in Berkeley’s life and career, and supplementary annotated appendices of original sources from thinkers relevant to Berkeley’s work.

About this title

About the Author:

The late Dale Jacquette was Senior Professorial Chair in Philosophy, Division for Logic and Theoretical Philosophy, at the University of Bern.

Review:

“Among the most welcome and distinctive features of this new edition are the editor’s substantial and informative introduction, and also a helpful set of appendices, including passages from Locke that define Berkeley’s main target, a substantial correspondence with Samuel Johnson, and a set of interpretations and convergences in other eighteenth-century writings. Highly recommended for use in upper-level courses.” ― Ernest Sosa, Board of Governors Professor, Rutgers University

“A very welcome addition to Berkeley studies is Dale Jacquette’s new edition of Berkeley’s Three Dialogues. Professor Jacquette’s introduction and annotations are extremely helpful, as is his inclusion of Berkeley’s letters to his American correspondent Samuel Johnson. ... This book would be quite useful for general courses in Early Modern Philosophy, more advanced courses in Empiricism, and certainly for one devoted just to Berkeley.” ― Richard Brook, Professor Emeritus, Bloomsburg University

About this edition

• Publisher: Broadview Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1551119889
• ISBN 13: 9781551119885
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264
• Editor: Jacquette Dale