Berkeley and Philosophy - Essay Example

An ordinary un-philosophical person would claim that objects like table cause sensations to appear before the mind but George Berkeley denies this theory. Ordinary people plan their lives on the assumption that objects cause sensation in us but Berkeley refutes this assumption too. What are his arguments in support of his claims? Berkeley held that table is inert and a material and hence cannot cause any idea in the mind. Berkeley’s predecessor Locke, held that the real essence of an object is incapable of being comprehended by the human mind. They are situated in the ‘indeterminate’ substratum and can be understood by one who has super human faculties. Berkeley thought this was scepticism. If we place the real beyond the reach of all experience then scepticism is unavoidable. The doctrine of material substance according to Berkeley had precisely this effect. He claimed to defend common sense against sceptical challenges. Various arguments have come on his claim to defend common sense. Berkeley argues that if the object causes the sensation, then if that object were removed, we would be away from the sensible world. We do not have to presuppose the reality of external material substances. Berkeley held that what we really perceive is as we perceive it to be. We merely perceive sensible objects, which are collection of sensible qualities. These sensible qualities in turn are nothing but the ideas ingrained in the mind of the perceiver. This can be further explained by the example of heat. Heat has its own qualities; heat has a certain temperature. If we dip one hand in chilled water and the other in tepid water and then both together in a bowl of hot water, what is the difference? One hand feels hot and the other cold or less hot. If the heat or the hot water creates the sensation, it should have been the same on both hands. This clearly explains Berkeley’s theory that all perceptions are mere ideas of the mind. He totally disagrees that anything exists external to our mind and this is aptly confirmed by this example of heat. Berkeley states that we cannot perceive of any sensible object existing independently of a perceiver. Suppose one is asked to think of a tree in the middle of a dense forest. If one can conceive such a thing, then it conforms that he has some previous idea about it in the mind. This means that irrespective of the existence of the tree, one can perceive it based on ideas of the mind. Thus, the object - the tree or the forest has not created the sensation; the table does create the sensation of brownness to appear before our eyes. Berkeley further argued that the words sensible things and ideas are the same. He explains saying that the external objects are either perceivable or not perceivable. If they are perceivable, then they are ideas. If they are ideas, then there is no difference between objects assumed to be without us and our ideas of them. Our ideas or the things we perceive are inactive. Idea cannot do anything or cause to do anything. The cause of idea itself is the spirit or God. He further clarifies that the mind perceives and produces are not two different actions. He says sensations and ideas are deeply imprinted on the sense and the object they compose cannot exist without the mind. He then clarifies the word exist when applied to sensible things. When you sit and write at a table you say it exists. If you move out of the room, the table still exists but you can perceive it only if you in the room. At the same time, some other spirit may still perceive it. Even though he defended common sense against sceptical challenges, he maintained that sensible objects exist only in the minds of those who perceive them. Common sense says objects continue to exist even if I do not perceive them. Suppose you blink your eyes several times. Each time that you open or shut the eyes, everything that you see does not pop out of existence and back in. Berkeley held that sensible objects cannot exist unless I perceive but there are others who may perceive the object even when I do not. I am not the only perceiver. The objects exist as long as there is even one sentient being who has in mind the sensible qualities. Thus, even if I close my eyes, the tree or any other object will continue to exist. Berkeley has not overlooked the idea that other spirits may or can perceive an object even when he cannot. What he tries to clarify is that the object does not have existence out of the mind that perceives the object. He further clarifies his stand by stating that houses, rivers and mountains are all sensible objects and have an existence. Nevertheless, these objects are what we perceive by sense and we perceive only our own ideas and sensations. What he stresses is that these objects cannot and do not exist unless they are perceived. Any material that is separate from our impressions is not perceivable. It has no significance, it is unknowable and inconceivable. Heat and cold, light and sound, colors and figures are mere sensations, notions, ideas, or impressions on the sense. It is not possible to separate any of these perceptions. It is not possible to see or feel an object without an actual sensation of that object. For instance, it is not possible to smell a rose without perceiving the rose itself. To perceive the rose prior impression has to be there on the sense. Hence, this once again proves that sensation and idea is important. Berkeleys famous principle is esse is percipi, to be is to be perceived. He held that there are no material substances – only finite mental substances and infinite mental substances that is God. All ideas are formed by the help of memory and imagination. If ideas are construed as objects of knowledge, he says, there must be something that knows or perceives these ideas. This something is what Berkeley calls the ‘mind’ or the ‘spirit’. Berkeley in very clear terms states that existence of matter is an illusion. It cannot cause any sensation of color or shape. He further stressed that time is abstracted from the different ideas that come to the mind. He believed that space cannot exist without the mind and the mind alone exists. It is mind that perceives the ideas either by themselves or through the all-powerful spirit. The mind depends on the spirit whom we call God. This spirit produces the sensible ideas in us. Hence, an ordinary person cannot claim that the table causes the sensation because even if he closes his eyes the table continues to exist. Berkeley has not overlooked the fact that objects cause sensations; he objects to it. He firmly believes that it is not the object that is important. The ideas and sensations imprinted on our sense helps us to perceive the object. The objects that we see are mere ideas in our mind and that of God. When we say something exists, we mean nothing more than we perceive it. A brown table cannot cause the sensation of brownness before our eyes because there is no material world outside of our perception. The brownness is a state of conscious caused by the mind’s perception of the chair. Even the ‘bodies’ are bundles of perception. There exists only the world of spirits, the world of the Supreme power, God. Read More