George Berkeley vs John Locke
Berkeley's philosophy was developed in part as an immanent critique of Locke's. Berkeley accepted the empiricist starting point and argued that, properly carried through, it leads to a position quite unlike the one Locke held.
At a glance
| George Berkeley | John Locke | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | 1685 – 1753 | 1632 – 1704 |
| Nationality | Irish | English |
| Era | Modern | Modern |
| Movements | Empiricism | Empiricism, Enlightenment, Social Contract |
| Profile | George Berkeley → | John Locke → |
Where they agree
Both held that all ideas derive from experience, both rejected innate ideas, and both took perception as the central topic of epistemology and metaphysics. Both wrote in clear, accessible English aimed at educated lay readers.
Where they disagree
Locke distinguished between primary qualities (extension, motion, figure, number) which inhere in objects, and secondary qualities (color, sound, taste) which exist only in the mind. Berkeley argued that the distinction collapses on Lockean principles: there is no good reason to take primary qualities as mind-independent that does not equally apply to secondary qualities. Berkeley's conclusion is that material substance is incoherent and that to be is to be perceived. Locke's empiricism preserves a mind-independent material world; Berkeley's empiricism eliminates it.
Representative quotes
George Berkeley
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“To be is to be perceived.”
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, §3 -
“Truth is the cry of all, but the game of few.”
Paragraph 368 -
“Few men think, yet all will have opinions.”
Philonous to Hylas. The Second Dialogue. This appears in a passage first added in the third edition, (1734)
John Locke
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“No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience.”
Book II, Ch. 1, sec. 19 -
“All mankind being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”
Second Treatise of Government , Ch. II, sec. 6 -
“The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.”
Second Treatise of Government , Ch. VI, sec. 57
Continue reading
- Full profile: George Berkeley
- Full profile: John Locke
- Shared movements: Empiricism
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