Editing George Berkeley (section)

===Ireland===
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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.