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Empiricist Theories of SpaceThe Consequences of the Consequences of the Principles for the Theory of the Principles

Empiricist Theories of Space: The Consequences of the Consequences of the Principles for the... [Berkeley’s philosophy of science is often assumed to be tangential to the theory laid out in the Principles, for which he is best known, and to be found instead only in minor works. It is undeniable however that Berkeley dedicates a large section of the Principles to a discussion of natural science or philosophy. I argue that this section is central to Berkeley’s conception of his goals in the Principles. Here, Berkeley is showing that a theory based on his own limited ontology of spirits and ideas can do a better job of providing knowledge of natural phenomena than its chief rival, that holds that natural phenomena are to be understood as flowing from inward, but unknown essences. Berkeley’s project is ultimately epistemological. An account based on essences leads to skepticism, while instead we have certain knowledge of phenomena when we understand them to be deduced from laws of increasing generality. Berkeley takes his approach to be in line with that of Newton, with one exception. Newton supposes that his theory requires appeal to absolute space, place and motion. Berkeley argues that philosophers actually achieve their results by tacitly appealing only to space relative to some framework, and concludes that the only coherent account of space is relative, in line with the constructive account he had developed earlier in The New Theory of Vision.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Empiricist Theories of SpaceThe Consequences of the Consequences of the Principles for the Theory of the Principles

Part of the Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Book Series (volume 54)
Editors: Berchielli, Laura
Atherton, Margaret
Empiricist Theories of Space — Nov 4, 2020
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References (5)

Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
ISBN
978-3-030-57619-6
Pages
131 –141
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-57620-2_6
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[Berkeley’s philosophy of science is often assumed to be tangential to the theory laid out in the Principles, for which he is best known, and to be found instead only in minor works. It is undeniable however that Berkeley dedicates a large section of the Principles to a discussion of natural science or philosophy. I argue that this section is central to Berkeley’s conception of his goals in the Principles. Here, Berkeley is showing that a theory based on his own limited ontology of spirits and ideas can do a better job of providing knowledge of natural phenomena than its chief rival, that holds that natural phenomena are to be understood as flowing from inward, but unknown essences. Berkeley’s project is ultimately epistemological. An account based on essences leads to skepticism, while instead we have certain knowledge of phenomena when we understand them to be deduced from laws of increasing generality. Berkeley takes his approach to be in line with that of Newton, with one exception. Newton supposes that his theory requires appeal to absolute space, place and motion. Berkeley argues that philosophers actually achieve their results by tacitly appealing only to space relative to some framework, and concludes that the only coherent account of space is relative, in line with the constructive account he had developed earlier in The New Theory of Vision.]

Published: Nov 4, 2020

Keywords: Knowledge; Natural phenomena; Newton

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