Ever thought about whether the world is there only because you think it is? That’s what George Berkeley meant with his philosophy of idealism. The 18th-century philosopher came up with a pretty wild idea: “To be is to be perceived.” According to him, we don’t find objects, and the world exists separately from our minds. Instead, they come with reality attached. We’re going to take a close look at this interesting view and see how it measures up against everyday common sense about what’s real and what isn’t.
Who Was George Berkeley?
George Berkeley, who was born in 1685, was an influential Irish philosopher during the early 18th century. After attending Trinity College Dublin, he became an Anglican priest. In addition to philosophy, Berkeley had other passions. He wanted to help shape Ireland’s future by promoting learning and social welfare.
But Berkeley wasn’t one for sitting around just thinking big thoughts in a library somewhere. He believed that ideas and action should go hand in hand—which is why he came up with a crazy plan during his 1720s visit to Rhode Island.
Berkeley’s scheme was simple. He’d create a college in Bermuda that would serve not only European settlers (or colonists) but also Native Americans—who often got limited education opportunities back then. Sadly for him, it didn’t work out.
Although he was heavily involved in academia, Berkeley also had a profound interest in science. He conversed with the foremost scientific thinkers of his day and became particularly fascinated with optics and mathematics. In addition to penning theories, he conducted experiments himself, especially on the nature of vision and the physics of light.
Berkeley occupied several academic posts as well as roles within the Church throughout his life. He became a Bishop of Cloyne in 1734. His writings display both a sharp mind hungry for knowledge and a desire to use philosophy as a force for good in society. Which is why they continue to be read and respected by people studying far beyond philosophy alone.
Foundations of Berkeley’s Idealism
During a period in which traditional beliefs about reality and existence were being challenged by the Enlightenment, one philosopher stood out: George Berkeley.
In an intellectual milieu dominated by such giants as John Locke and Isaac Newton—both of whom played major roles in the Enlightenment—Berkeley had a startling new idea. He mentioned that things do not exist outside human perception. This belief system is known as idealism.
While thinkers like Locke contended that material substances are what cause us to have perceptions, Berkeley took it a step further, saying simply that these material substances do not exist if we do not perceive them. This represented a major break from what people had previously believed. Namely, he mentioned there is a world outside of us—and entirely apart from how we experience it.
According to Berkeley, reality is made up of our sensory experiences. This means that the things we perceive aren’t reflections of external objects; they are the objects.
By saying that something only exists if we perceive it, Berkeley not only critiqued an important part of Enlightenment thinking about knowledge (empiricism), but he also made people think more about what reality is. Because of this, Berkeley changed how philosophers discussed many subjects—his ideas had a big impact.
Esse est Percipi: Existence as Perception
George Berkeley’s philosophy is summarized by the phrase Esse est percipi or “to be is to be perceived.” He believes that everything, including objects and the world itself, exists only because they are being perceived. This challenges other philosophers from both earlier and later times who say there is a material world apart from human senses.
For example, if there’s a tree far away in a forest, traditional philosophy might claim that whether or not anyone sees it, the tree is there. Berkeley would respond: “no, without a mind noticing it, the tree can’t be considered as existing in any real way.” It only exists if someone perceives it—its existence is directly tied to being known by a perceiver.
Consider the things around you right now, like the seat you’re sitting on or your device. According to Berkeley, these things only count as real because you perceive them. If something isn’t being sensed by any mind (human or godly), then how can it exist in your reality?
Berkeley’s extreme way of seeing things doesn’t just redefine what we mean when we talk about what’s real. It also makes us really think about perception and how it helps shape our world. In fact, some people might say it creates it altogether.
The Role of God in Berkeley’s Idealism
In George Berkeley’s philosophy of idealism, where things only exist if they are perceived, the role of God is important for holding up the world so that it doesn’t disappear when we’re not looking.
According to Berkeley, there has to be someone who sees everything all the time for anything to exist continuously—and that someone is God. So, God is observing all particles and every moment of existence constantly, acting as a kind of ultimate mind that sustains each thing by perceiving it.
By bringing God into this theory, Berkeley also finds a way around some problems people might raise against him. For example, even when everyone in the whole world is asleep or indoors and does not see it, the moon still stays in place above the earth at night because there is an ever-wakeful divine observer keeping an eye on it.
This divine surveillance makes sure that the universe remains a coherent and steady reality, instead of a disconnected collection of perceptions that flicker in and out of existence as human minds come and go.
However, this theological turn in Berkeley’s philosophy raises both fascination and criticism. Critics say that relying on a divine perceiver may push philosophical reasoning into the realm of faith.
It also prompts questions about whether reality is independent—could it be just something God creates for His own observation? These ideas in theology make us think more deeply about philosophy, perception and spirituality coming together.
Subjective Reality and Individual Perception
In George Berkeley’s philosophy of idealism, the idea of subjective reality is paramount. Our own perceptions don’t just help create our world; they constitute it.
This radical-sounding claim means that what each individual takes to be reality emerges out of his or her sensations alone. Berkeley’s position also leads us to wonder about the limits of knowledge: Are we only ever aware of things we can see, touch, hear, taste, or smell?
Berkeley’s theory raises questions worth pondering. If our perception shapes how we understand something—indeed, if it helps make up our entire experience of it—then everybody might have a very different idea of what the world is like.
This raises philosophical dilemmas, such as solipsism, the idea that only one’s own mind can be certain to exist. If reality is subjective, how do we know anything beyond our own thoughts is real?
Berkeley tackles this by proposing a kind of intersubjective verification: if multiple observers perceive something in the same way, their shared perceptions prove that it exists. This does not overcome the difficulties so much as invite us to grapple with them more deeply.
In fact, Berkeley’s approach highlights a paradox at the heart of philosophy. If we agree that each person creates their own reality (at least partly), then how can any two or more people ever have the same experience?
In exploring these ideas, Berkeley pushes us to reconsider what we mean by “reality” or “knowledge.” He forces us into new territory where we must think about how collective understanding works alongside individual perception.
Rejection of Materialism and Abstract Ideas
George Berkeley’s philosophy is characterized by a firm rejection of materialism—the belief in an external world independent of perception. In his critique, Berkeley dismantles the notion of matter. He is arguing that attributes we consider properties of material objects—such as size, shape, and motion—exist only so far as they are perceived.
To say there exists an unperceived material object is thus to talk about something logically contradictory: without perception, these properties can’t exist. This bold claim also underpins Berkeley’s attack on abstract ideas—a concept widely accepted among his contemporaries, including influential thinkers like John Locke.
Locke thought abstract ideas were mental representations of qualities that could be shared by multiple objects. For example, according to Locke, we form an abstract idea representing all triangles (regardless of their specific size, proportions, and so on).
However, Berkeley takes issue with this and says we can’t have abstract ideas at all—our minds can only hold ideas that are as specific and detailed as our perceptions themselves.
By denying the existence of both material substances and abstract ideas, Berkeley supports his idealist philosophy. Everything we know about objects (including the objects themselves) comes from our perceptions of them. If there’s no one around to perceive something, he says, it doesn’t exist.
This theory changes the direction of philosophy considerably. Rather than arguing about what exists outside human minds, Berkeley suggests examining more closely what our minds perceive and how.
So, What Is Berkeley’s Idealism?
George Berkeley’s idealism holds an innovative view that our perceptions create the very fabric of reality. According to Berkeley, physical objects—and indeed, the entire material world—only exist when we perceive them.
Think about a tree in a distant forest. Berkeley would say it exists because some mind (ideally, that of an all-encompassing God) perceives it continuously. By having this divine perceiver—a concept that helps steady his philosophical framework—Berkeley ensures that all things have continual existence since they’re always being perceived.
Berkeley takes this idea further. He also calls into question whether abstract ideas can exist alongside matter if there is no perception of them.
For example, according to Berkeley, there is no such thing as the general concept “triangle” floating around in some non-physical realm unless there are specific instances of people perceiving triangles—with their three sides and three angles each.
By pushing for a complete connection between subjective experience and what does or doesn’t exist on its own (independent) from individual minds, Berkeley offers up a new way to think about idealism. It is the one where we don’t just consider facts but also how each person shapes their own reality based on how they see things.
