OhioLINK History of Philosophy Website
Professor Deborah Smith
Read Berkeley's argument from The Principles, in E., pp. 159-160, par. 23. This argument occurs again in the first dialogue (E., p. 245). Reflect on this argument carefully for a few days: what is the conclusion of this argument? How does this argument fit into Berkeley's overall project of avoiding skepticism by rejecting the doctrine of material objects? Then, do the following:
In your own words, present Berkeley's argument as clearly and plausibly as you can. Your presentation should make it very clear what the premises of this argument are and why the conclusion appears to follow from them. Make sure to include any assumptions that Berkeley doesn't explicitly mention but that are required for his conclusion to follow. As a result of your explication, the reader should find Berkeley's conclusion fairly plausible.
In your own words and as clearly and as concisely as you can, state what you take to be the biggest objection to Berkeley's argument. (Don't go to the secondary literature here; I want you to think hard and come up with an objection.) Does the conclusion fail to follow from the premises no matter how plausible you try to make the argument? Is one or more of the premises highly questionable? Make it clear why the problem you cite is a problem.
Your explication of Berkeley's argument and criticism thereof should adhere to the style guidelines established for this class and should be no more than one page in length. This assignment, although short, should be extremely challenging. I want a lot of detail both in your presentation of the argument and your criticism. The first challenge will be to provide the level of detail that I am looking for and stay within the page limit. Obviously, you will need to choose each word and each sentence carefully. The second challenge is to present Berkeley's argument in its best possible light. Your formulation of it should be a significant improvement over Berkeley's. If your criticism comes too easily, you likely didn't do justice to Berkeley's argument. The final challenge is to present a compelling objection to this argument once you have done it justice.
Due Monday, October 13th
This page is part of the OhioLINK History of Philosophy Instructional Website designed and developed by the Department of Philosophy at Kent State University. We are interested in any comments you may have concerning this Micro Writing Exercise. Send e-mail to the KSU Department of Philosophy Instructional Website Development Team or directly to Professor Deborah Smith, who designed this exercise.
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