Publisher's Synopsis
Part 2 opens with Berman's two essays of 1982 - the first to show that Berkeley came from a rich and coherent Irish philosophical background. Next comes a discussion of the link between Berkeley and Francis Hutcheson, and particularly their answers to the Molyneux problem, which Berman takes to be the root problem of Irish philosophy.
The fourth essay looks at the impact of the golden age Irish philosophy on eighteenth-century American philosophy, where, again, Berkeley has a central position. The last item examines Berkeley's influence on Samuel Beckett.
Part 3 shows the many-sidedness of Berkeley's career, which is missed by those who concentrate exclusively on his work of 1709-1713. Each item here presents new material on Berkeley's life, or on his works and thought; most of these are new letters, not included in the Luce-Jessop edition of the Works of Berkeley. This section, therefore, can be seen a supplement to volumes 8 and 9 of the Works and also to Luce's Life of Berkeley.