Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge

In his “Principles of Human Knowledge” Berkeley makes the striking claim that physical things consist of nothing but ideas, and so do not exist outside the mind. This establishes Berkeley as the founder of the idealist tradition in philosophy. Berkeley argues vigorously that once we correct our understanding of the physical, we can find a new proof of the existence of God, refute skeptical attacks on human knowledge, and resolve many difficulties and paradoxes raised by the advance of science.
The text printed in this volume is the 1734 edition of the “Principles” which is generally agreed to represent Berkeley’s mature thought.
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