If We Stop Thinking About Berkeley's Problem of Continuity, Will It Still Exist?

Journal of the History of Philosophy 55 (2):237-260 (2017)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Berkeley holds that the essence of sensible objects is percipi. So, sensible objects cannot exist unperceived. Naturally, this has invited questions about the existence of sensible objects when unperceived by finite minds. This is sometimes called the Problem of Continuity. It is frequently said that Berkeley solves the problem by invoking God's ever-present perception to ensure that sensible objects maintain a continuous existence. Problems with this line of response have led some to a phenomenalist interpretation of Berkeley's claim. This paper argues that neither of these are Berkeley's solution since he recognizes no such problem. The paper sketches a new interpretation of sensible objects that obviates the need for a "solution" by avoiding the "problem" in the first place.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 98,316

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Berkeley on Unperceived Objects and the Publicity of Language.Kenneth L. Pearce - 2017 - History of Philosophy Quarterly 34 (3):231-250.
Unperceived Objects.Kenneth P. Winkler - 1989 - In Berkeley: An Interpretation. Oxford, GB: Oxford University Press UK.
Berkeley's Ontology and the Epistemology of Idealism.Robert Muehlmann - 1978 - Canadian Journal of Philosophy 8 (1):89-111.
Berkeley and God in the Quad.Melissa Frankel - 2012 - Philosophy Compass 7 (6):388-396.
Abstract General Ideas in Hume.George S. Pappas - 1989 - Hume Studies 15 (2):339-352.
Mind-Dependence in Berkeley and the Problem of Perception.Umrao Sethi - 2021 - Australasian Journal of Philosophy 99 (4):648-668.
Berkeley's Idealism: Arguments of the First Dialogue.Glen Woolcott - 1996 - Dissertation, The University of Western Ontario (Canada)

Analytics

Added to PP
2016-01-06

Downloads
125 (#153,823)

6 months
12 (#233,849)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

S. Seth Bordner
University of Alabama

Citations of this work

Berkeley's Theory of Language.Kenneth L. Pearce - 2021 - In Samuel Charles Rickless (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Berkeley. New York: Oxford University Press.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references