Editing George Berkeley (section)

==Biography==
===Ireland===
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2018}}
Berkeley was born at his family home, [[Dysart Castle]], near [[Thomastown, County Kilkenny|Thomastown]], [[County Kilkenny]], Ireland, the eldest son of William Berkeley, a [[Cadet (genealogy)|cadet]] of the noble family of [[Berkeley family|Berkeley]] whose ancestry can be traced back to the [[Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon period]] and who had served as feudal lords and landowners in [[Gloucester]], England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stock's 'An Account of the Life of George Berkeley, D.D.' |url=https://www.maths.tcd.ie/~dwilkins/Berkeley/Stock/Life.html |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=maths.tcd.ie}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=George Berkeley {{!}} Biography, Philosophy, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Berkeley |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> Little is known of his mother. He was educated at [[Kilkenny College]] and attended [[Trinity College Dublin]], where he was [[List of Scholars of Trinity College Dublin|elected a Scholar]] in 1702, being awarded BA in 1704 and MA and a Fellowship in 1707. He remained at Trinity College after the completion of his degree as a tutor and Greek lecturer.

His earliest publication was on mathematics, but the first that brought him notice was his ''[[s:An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision|An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision]]'', first published in 1709. In the essay, Berkeley examines visual distance, magnitude, position and problems of sight and touch. While this work raised much controversy at the time, its conclusions are now accepted as an established part of the theory of optics.

The next publication to appear was the ''[[Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge]]'' in 1710, which had great success and gave him a lasting reputation, though few accepted his theory that nothing exists outside the mind. This was followed in 1713 by ''[[Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous]]'', in which he propounded his system of philosophy, the leading principle of which is that the world, as represented by our senses, depends for its existence on being perceived.

For this theory, the ''Principles'' gives the exposition and the ''Dialogues'' the defence. One of his main objectives was to combat the prevailing [[materialism]] of his time. The theory was largely received with ridicule, while even those such as [[Samuel Clarke]] and [[William Whiston]], who did acknowledge his "extraordinary genius," were nevertheless convinced that his first principles were false.

=== England and Europe ===
Shortly afterwards, Berkeley visited England and was received into the circle of [[Joseph Addison|Addison]], [[Alexander Pope|Pope]] and [[Richard Steele|Steele]]. In the period between 1714 and 1720, he interspersed his academic endeavours with periods of extensive travel in Europe, including one of the most extensive Grand Tours of the length and breadth of Italy ever undertaken.<ref>[[Edward Chaney]], 'George Berkeley's Grand Tours: The Immaterialist as Connoisseur of Art and Architecture', in E. Chaney, ''The Evolution of the Grand Tour: Anglo-Italian Cultural Relations since the Renaissance,'' 2nd ed. London, Routledge. 2000 {{ISBN|0714644749}}</ref> In 1721, he took [[Holy orders]] in the [[Church of Ireland]], earning his doctorate in [[divinity]], and once again chose to remain at Trinity College Dublin, lecturing this time in Divinity and in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. In 1721/2 he was made [[Dean of Dromore]] and, in 1724, [[Dean of Derry]].

In 1723, Berkeley was named co-heir of [[Esther Vanhomrigh]], along with the barrister [[Robert Marshall (Irish judge)|Robert Marshall]]. This naming followed Vanhomrigh's violent quarrel with [[Jonathan Swift]], who had been her intimate friend for many years. Vanhomrigh's choice of legatees caused a good deal of surprise since she did not know either of them well, although Berkeley as a very young man had known her father. Swift said that he did not grudge Berkeley his inheritance, much of which vanished in a lawsuit in any event. A story that Berkeley and Marshall disregarded a condition of the inheritance that they must publish the correspondence between Swift and Vanessa is probably untrue.

In 1725, Berkeley began the project of founding a college in [[Bermuda]] for training ministers and missionaries in the colony, in pursuit of which he gave up his deanery with its income of £1,100.

===Marriage and America===
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| image1= The Bermuda Group Dean Berkeley and his Entourage by John Smibert.jpeg
| caption1 = A [[Portrait painting|group portrait]] of Berkeley and his entourage by [[John Smibert]]
| image2= Whitehall Museum House, Middletown Rhode island.jpg
| caption2 = [[Whitehall Museum House|Whitehall]], Berkeley's home in [[Middletown, Rhode Island]]
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On 1 August 1728 at [[St Mary le Strand]], London,<ref>{{cite book |title=St Mary le Strand parish register |date=1 August 1728 }}</ref> Berkeley married Anne Forster, daughter of [[John Forster (Chief Justice)|John Forster]], [[Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas]], and Forster's first wife Rebecca Monck. He then went to America on a salary of £100 per annum. He landed near [[Newport, Rhode Island]], where he bought a [[plantation]] at [[Middletown, Rhode Island|Middletown]]{{spaced ndash}}the famous "[[Whitehall Museum House|Whitehall]]". Berkeley purchased several [[Slavery in the colonial history of the United States|enslaved Africans]] to work on the plantation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=First Scholarship Fund |url=http://www.yaleslavery.org/Endowments/e2schol.html#:~:text=Bishop%20George%20Berkeley%20bought%203,donated%20the%20plantation%20to%20Yale.&text=George%20Berkeley%20had%20slaves%20working%20his%20plantation%20until%20he%20left%20in%201731 |access-date=2020-06-28 |website=Yale, Slavery & Abolition}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Humphreys |first1=Joe |title=What to do about George Berkeley, Trinity figurehead and slave owner? |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/what-to-do-about-george-berkeley-trinity-figurehead-and-slave-owner-1.4277555 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]}}</ref> In 2023, Trinity College Dublin removed Berkeley's name from one of its libraries because of his slave ownership and his active defence of slavery.<ref>{{cite web |title=Berkeley Name Dropped From Trinity College Library |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/05/09/berkeley-name-dropped-trinity-college-library |website=Inside Higher Ed |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref>

It has been claimed that "he introduced [[Palladianism]] into America by borrowing a design from [William] Kent's ''Designs of Inigo Jones'' for the door-case of his house in Rhode Island, Whitehall".<ref>Chaney, Edward. T''he Evolution of the Grand Tour: Anglo-Italian Cultural Relations Since the Renaissance (''Frank Cass Publishers, 2000), 324.</ref> He also brought to New England [[John Smybert|John Smibert]], the Scottish artist he "discovered" in Italy, who is generally regarded as the founding father of American portrait painting.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Smibert |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Smibert |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=15 August 2016}}</ref> Meanwhile, he drew up plans for the ideal city he planned to build on Bermuda.<ref>E. Chaney, "George Berkeley's Grand Tours", ''Evolution of the Grand Tour'', p.&nbsp;324.</ref> He lived at the plantation while he waited for funds for his college to arrive. The funds, however, were not forthcoming. "With the withdrawal from London of his own persuasive energies, opposition gathered force; and the Prime Minister, [[Robert Walpole|Walpole]] grew steadily more sceptical and lukewarm. At last it became clear that the essential Parliamentary grant would be not forthcoming",<ref>[[Geoffrey J. Warnock]], Introduction to: George Berkeley, ''A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge'', Open Court La Salle, 1986, p.&nbsp;9.</ref> and in 1732 he left America and returned to London.

He and Anne had four children who survived infancy{{snd}}Henry, George, William and Julia{{snd}}and at least two others who did not. William's death in 1751 was a great cause of grief for his father.

===Episcopate in Ireland===
Berkeley was nominated to be the [[Bishop of Cloyne]] in the [[Church of Ireland]] on 18 January 1734. He was consecrated as such on 19 May 1734. He was the Bishop of Cloyne until his death on 14 January 1753, although he died at Oxford (see below).

===Humanitarian work===
While living in London's Saville Street, he took part in efforts to create a home for the city's abandoned children. The [[Foundling Hospital]] was founded by [[royal charter]] in 1739, and Berkeley is listed as one of its original governors.

===Last works===
His last two publications were ''Siris: A Chain of Philosophical Reflexions and Inquiries Concerning the Virtues of Tarwater, And divers other Subjects connected together and arising one from another'' (1744) and ''Further Thoughts on Tar-water'' (1752). [[Pine tar]] is an effective antiseptic and disinfectant when applied to cuts on the skin, but Berkeley argued for the use of pine tar as a broad panacea for diseases. His 1744 work on [[tar water|tar-water]] sold more copies than any of his other books during Berkeley's lifetime.<ref name="SEP"/>

He remained at Cloyne until 1752, when he retired. With his wife and daughter Julia, he went to Oxford to live with his son George and supervise his education.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2013/entries/berkeley/|title=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|last=Downing|first=Lisa|chapter=George Berkeley |year=2013|publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|edition=Spring 2013}}</ref> He died soon afterwards and was buried in [[Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford]]. His affectionate disposition and genial manners made him much loved and held in warm regard by many of his contemporaries. Anne outlived her husband by many years, and died in 1786.<ref>Pope, in his ''Satires, Epistles, and Odes of Horace'' (Epilogue to the Satires, Dialogue ii, line 73) refers to God granting "To Berkeley every Virtue under Heaven".</ref>