George Berkeley: Idealism and the Man(Clarendon Paperbacks)

Unlike nearly all studies of Berkeley, this book looks at the full range of his work and links it with his life - focussing in particular on his religious thought. While aiming to present a clear picture of his career, this book breaks new ground on, among other topics, Berkeley's philosophical strategy, his account of immortality, his Jacobitism, his emotive theory of religious mysteries, and the motivation of his Siris (1744). Also distinctive is the attention paid to the Irish context of his thought, his symbolic frontispieces and portraits, and recent discoveries concerning his life and writings. The Berkeley that emerges from this study is deeper and more human that the usual picture of him as a starry-eyed idealist with every virtue under heaven.

Table of Contents:
Early life and intellectual background 1685-1713; philosophy in the Heroic Period 1709-1713; theology in the Heroic Period; the middle years 1713-1721; the Bermuda project 1722-1731; philosophical theology 1732-1734; the good bishop 1735-1753; epilogue - Ecce Homo.

Review :
`David Berman is very well versed both in Berkeley's own works and in the literature about him, including the writings of his contemporaries, and is a reliable source of information not easily accessible elsewhere.' Times Literary Supplement `In this book David Berman ... has given an excellent account of Berkeley's life and work ... It is a relief to have such a well written book as this one by Berman. The English is lucid, deceptively simple and rather elegant. It is an informative and intelligent discussion of the views of an important philosopher, who was also a noble and virtuous human being. It has the added attraction of being a pleasure to read.' Irish Theological Quarterly `Excellent new philosophical biography of Berkeley ... The theological aspects of Berkeley's idealism are never far from sight in Berman's narrative ... The reader knows full well by the end of any of Berkeley's texts just where the author stands, and has a clear picture of his reasons for adopting his views on which to base a considered judgment of their merits. This is a lucid, well-researched and well-written scholarly excursus into interesting, neglected themes in Berkeley's philosophy and theology.' Religious Studies `...excellent new philosophical biography of Berkeley...Berman offers a more complete historical background to Berkeley's idealism than previous discussions of his thought. By approaching his subject with new questions about Berkeley's religious motivations and rhetorical strategies, Berman identifies connections and significancies especially in Berkeley's satellite writings, the notebooks, sermons, lectures, correspondence and philosophical glosses, that have escaped the attention of other commentators...This is lucid, well-researched and well-written scholarly excurses into interesting, neglected themes in Berkeley's philosophy and theology. There are important discussions of Berkeley's ideas...that are nowhere explored in such depth as in Berman's recent study.' Religious Studies `A readable, interesting, and informative study of the life and thought of George Berkeley ... a work that succeeds in both offering a useful introduction to Berkeley's life and thought and contributing to current understanding of the man and his ideas ... wide-ranging study ... Those unfamiliar with Berkeley's works and those tempted to dismiss them on the basis of caricatures of his position will find that this study introduces them to interesting ideas and an interesting person. Those who already have some knowledge of Berkeley will find in it materials and comments that will further illuminate their judgements on this man and his work.' Journal of Theological Studies `Berman's biography is a subtle introduction to the life and thought of the second of the three great British empiricists ... Highly recommended as a humanist introduction to the good Bishop of Cloyne.' The Reader's Review, Number 166, September 1996 `a highly useful supplementary text' Phillip D. Cummins, University of Iowa, Review of Metaphysics 50 (March 1997)