An Idealist Immaterialist: George Berkeley

Abstract

George Berkeley is one of the most important thinkers of British empiricist tradition and the Enlightenment. He who was a philosopher and cleric sought a life after his ideals; he placed immaterialism, which has been subject to fierce criticism not only during his lifetime but also after him, in the center of his system of thought and spent efforts to make it understood. In this article, we will try to state how this view of Berkeley who is a unique and passionate idealist has shaped the immaterialist thought. We will also examine how his view of the abstract concepts of religion, morality and God that are the main elements of his immaterialism have influenced his thought. We will also try to discover whether he is an idealist or immaterialist, or he anticipated an immaterialism that includes idealism.

Keywords

• Locke
• Berkeley
• İmmaterialism
• İdealism
• Occasionalism
• God
• Religion and Morals

İDEALİST BİR MATERYALİST: GEORGE BERKELEY

Abstract

George Berkeley, İngiliz deneyci geleneğinin ve aydınlanma düşüncesinin en önemli düşünürlerinden birisidir. İdealleri uğruna yaşamış bir filozof ve din adamı olarak Berkeley, immateryalizm gibi, gerek kendi zamanında gerekse sonrasında oldukça ciddi eleştirilere maruz kalmış bir kavramı, düşünce dünyasının merkezine yerleştirmiş ve ömrü boyunca da onun anlaşılması için çaba sarfetmiştir. Biz bu makalemizde, düşünce tarihinin en önemli idealistlerinden biri olan kabul edilen Berkeley’in, bu kendine has ve tutkulu bakış açısının immateryalist düşünceyi nasıl şekillendirdiğini ortaya koyacağız. Bu arada onun immateryalizminin ana unsurları olan din, ahlak, Tanrı ve soyut kavramlara dair görüşlerinin, düşüncesindeki etkilerinin görülmesini sağlayacağız. En önemlisi ise onun, sadece bir idealist mi yoksa bir immateryalist mi olduğu, ya da idealizmi içinde barındıran bir immateryalizmi öngörüp öngörmediğini irdelemeye çalışacağız.

Keywords

• Locke
• Berkeley
• İmmateryalizm
• idealizm
• Okazyonalizm
• Tanrı
• Din ve Ahlak

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