Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous

Deeply original, inspiring to some, abhorrent to others, George Berkeley’s philosophy of immaterialism is still influential three hundred years after the publication of his most widely read book, Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous.  Berkeley published the Dialogues because of the unenthusiastic reception of his Principles of Human Knowledge in 1710.  He hoped the use of the dialogue format would win a more favorable hearing, but unfortunately for Berkeley, the response was every bit as scathing as the reception of his previous work. In recent decades, Berkeley’s work has been recognized as an excellent introduction to the English philosophy of the eighteenth century, and to philosophy in general.  This edition of the dialogues is accessibly organized by David Hilbert and John Perry.