Mar 12– “Second Dialogue” (1713) by George Berkeley

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Mar 12– “Second Dialogue” (1713) by George Berkeley

Summary: Berkeley A: Am I smart Berkeley B? Berkeley B: So smart, Berkeley A.

Commentary: Another selection where we could've read the whole thing, but only pull around half. Also feels weird to start with the second dialogue. I've read one or two of these imaginary philosopher conversations before. They've always struck me as equal parts cumbersome, pretentious, and cowardly. Stand for your ideas for their own sake, don't put your words into the mouths of some ancient Greeks (one of whom you're working like a strawman-puppet or a kid playing chess against themselves) to make them sound more authoritative.

This is from one of the "nothing is real" branches of philosophy, which was the only one I studied in undergrad. I'll Bertrand Russel debunk it, since his response is the closest to mine (emphasis added).

If we say that the things known must be in the mind, we are either unduly limiting the mind's power of knowing, or we are uttering a mere tautology. We are uttering a mere tautology if we mean by 'in the mind' the same as by 'before the mind', i.e. if we mean merely being apprehended by the mind. But if we mean this, we shall have to admit that what, in this sense, is in the mind, may nevertheless be not mental. Thus when we realize the nature of knowledge, Berkeley's argument is seen to be wrong in substance as well as in form, and his grounds for supposing that 'ideas'-i.e. the objects apprehended-must be mental, are found to have no validity whatever. Hence his grounds in favour of the idealism may be dismissed.

If nothing is real, nothing matters, and it's all rather pointless. Which is kind of a general philosophy version of the classic Marcus Aurelius:

Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.

If the choice is to live life like things exist and matter, and not, it feels like a pretty obvious choice. And one where the alternative is to just walk in front of a train, since it's all pointless anyway. 

Have some Batman: