Kicking the Stone

A History of (Mis)Interpreting Berkeley

'After we came out of the church, we stood talking for some time together of Bishop Berkeley's ingenious sophistry to prove the nonexistence of matter, and that every thing in the universe is merely ideal. I observed, that though we are satisfied his doctrine is not true, it is impossible to refute it. I never shall forget the alacrity with which Johnson answered, striking his foot with mighty force against a large stone, till he rebounded from it -- "I refute it thus."' -- Boswell: Life




Chapters

Introduction

What Berkeley Actually Wrote

Eighteenth-Century Interpreters

Nineteenth-Century Interpreters

Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Interpreters

The Mind of God in Berkeley

Conclusion

Bibliography



Other Material

George Berkeley at PhilPapers

International Berkeley Society

Whitehall Museum House