Table of Contents

Acknowledgments; Note to the reader; Introduction; Part I. The Principles of Human Knowledge: 1. Ideas and the ends of language; 2. Locke, roles, and passion; 3. The ends of morality and religion; 4. Metaphor and the evidence of things not seen; Part II. Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous: 5. The opportunities of dialogue; 6. The character of the elenchus; 7. Comic characters; 8. Comic form; Part III. Alciphron: 9. Argument into satire; 10. Conversations with ingenious men; Part IV. Siris: 11. The rude essay; 12. The method of inductive analogy; 13. The hoary maxims of the ancients; Conclusion; Select bibliography; Index.

Promotional Information

This 1990 book offers rhetorical and literary analyses of four of George Berkeley's (1685–1753) major philosophical texts.

Reviews

"...the reader can turn from Walmsley's work not only with fresh insights, but with new tools for approaching the works of Berkeley's contemporaries (especially Hume) and relating them to Berkeley's own works." Studies in English Literature "The Rhetoric of Berkeley's Philosophy, particularly Walmsley's chapter on the character of the elenchus, can be strongly recommended to readers." Bob Robinson, South Atlantic Review "Walmsley provides a very thorough account, showing how Berkeley's studied choice of language aids him in manipulating the reader. One comes away from this book filled with admiration both for Walmsley as an analyst and for Berkeley as a stylist." Margaret Atherton, Eighteenth-Century Studies