John Locke Skepticism

The opinions of Bishop George Berkeley ran contrary to many of the theories expressed in the philosopher prior to him, specifically, John Locke. He also had strong concerns over skepticism and atheism, expressing that “we are insensibly drawn into uncouth paradoxes, difficulties, and inconsistencies, which multiply and grow upon us as we advance in speculation”. He had concerns that the ideas being proposed would not lead anywhere and cause people to question common sense, which to him was the church and God. In his three dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, Berkeley basically sets up a conversation between himself and his opponent, Locke. The two characters represent John Locke’s skepticism and George Berkeley’s Immaterialism respectfully.

His argument is that it is not possible to infer that something exists beyond the experience itself. A modern example could be a simulation like that of the matrix. If all information in the mind is defined through sensations in the mind, how is it possible to know the true nature of reality while inside the simulation. The basic concepts of Berkeley’s immaterialism are that he does not believe that anything can exist without already being perceived. Everything that is perceived is an idea in the mind. However, because he is not the cause of all ideas he is confronted with, and ideas exist only in the mind, he concludes that there must be a God outside of his own “mind that possesses, controls, and maintains the ideas”. He is essentially arguing that God is the one handing everyone’s perceptions, even when they are not perceiving them. It is like the concept of object permanence that most children learn when young. It is the idea that an object continues to exist even though they are not perceiving it. Berkeley is essentially saying that the world exists because God is perceiving all of