Abstract

An Essay Towards A New Theory Of Vision addresses a problem which George Berkeley encountered in formulating the metaphysics of his philosophy of immaterialism in A Treatise Concerning The Principles Of Human Knowledge. In opposition to mechanical materialism, Berkeley argued that bodies do not exist without the mind, and that our everyday experience delivers clear evidence of the Divine Presence. The difficulty is that we normally conduct our lives in accordance with an independent physical world which exists in external space, and we are not always mindful of the Divine Presence. This seems to be inconsistent with the basic hypothesis of immaterialism. ;Berkeley sought to resolve this difficulty by redefining our visual experience in terms of a revised science of optics while remaining true to his metaphysics and religious convictions. Hence, four major areas define the parameters of this dissertation with regard to why Berkeley thought that his theory of vision fulfills the proper requirements of scientific method and explanation, what his intention was in challenging geometric optics, how his theory of vision is consistent with his other major works, and whether the results of his revisionism have contemporary relevance. ;Part I deals with specific historical data with respect to the corpuscularian hypothesis and materialism, immaterialism and hypotheses of vision. My defence of Berkeley's corpuscularianism and my demonstration of its applicability to his theory of vision conclude Part I. ;Part II argues that a thread of consistency runs through all of Berkeley's works. Like the objects of vision with which it deals, his theory of vision projects a significant direction beyond its literal content. I address three factors of Berkeley's intention which are essential to his theory of vision and to the coherent rendering of all of his works. ;Part III consists of a close examination of Berkeley's challenges to geometric optics which are crucial to his rebuttal of mechanical materialism. ;Part IV demonstrates the contemporary applicability of Berkeley's doctrine of signification and of his analogy of vision and language. ;This dissertation supports the conclusion that An Essay Towards A New Theory Of Vision is preparatory and complementary to Berkeley's subsequent work.