George Berkeley: A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge<br /> by Tod Desmond

Four important questions:<br /> - What can I know?

Berkeley believes in two things: ideas and the minds that perceive them.

"manifest contradiction"

Lucretius: things are made of atoms<br /> Berkeley: there are only ideas (and no matter)

Where do ideas and minds separate? where do they connect? how are they different from each other?

primary qualities versus secondary qualities

Plato's theory of absolute ideas<br /> - he rejects matter - GB: we can't separate primary and secondary qualities in our minds

How does matter interact with mind?

A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge<br /> by [[LibriVox]]<br /> accessed on 2026-05-07T09:38:57

A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (Version 2)<br /> by [[LibriVox]]<br /> accessed on 2026-05-07T09:41:21

• David Hume
  • in the section of the treatise of human nature on skepticism
  • https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4705

• Digby’s answer to the fundamental question:
  • What is it that unites the parts of a system into a living individual? was the precursor to the biological concept of functional integration:
  • wholeness comes from the system being functionally interdependent and integrated.
    • the activities in one part of the system are brought about
    • by a cause external to the part where it occurs (interdependence);
    • and the mutual workings of the parts account for the behaviour of the system as a whole,
    • making this activity internal to the entire system (integration).
    • Here is an example using an Elephant
      • An elephant’s heart pumps blood only because it’s supplied with
        • energy from the digestive system,
        • oxygen from the respiratory system, and
        • support from the skeletal system.
      • All those bits working in tandem is what makes it possible for an elephant to walk around doing elephant things.

• Kenelm Digby
  • was an obscure 17th century English naturalist and polymath who was also
    • natural philosopher
      • Two Treatises (1644) - is the title of his important work which was an attempt to wed the emerging mechanical philosophy advocated by Newton to the existing tradition of Aristotle
      • In his book, he tried to answer the question: what is it that unites the parts of a system into a living individual?
    • alchemist
    • swordsman
    • privateer
    • courtier
    • brewer
    • inventor of the modern wine bottle

Maxwell wrote the Treatise

reading the texts in parallel.