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George Berkeley was 25 when he published the claim that made his name: that nothing exists except minds and the ideas they perceive. In the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710) he wrote that “esse is percipi” — to be is to be perceived — and that the one thing whose existence he denied was what philosophers call matter. Born in County Kilkenny in 1685, he studied and taught at Trinity College Dublin, spent several years in Rhode Island waiting for funds to found a college in Bermuda, and became Bishop of Cloyne in 1734. Schopenhauer called him the father of idealism. This guide covers his 7 key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 7 key books · 1709–1744 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
George Berkeley’s philosophy rests on three early books: An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision (1709), A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710) and Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (1713). Start with the Three Dialogues, his own more popular restatement of the Principles; below you will find all 7 key books in order and what each one argues.
Where to Start with George Berkeley
If you want the most readable way into his idealism
→ Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (1713) — the same argument as a conversation.
If you want the full argument against matter
→ A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710) — the 1710 treatise.
If you want his work on how we see
→ An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision (1709).
If you want his attack on Newton’s calculus
→ The Analyst (1734) — addressed to “an infidel mathematician”.
7 George Berkeley Books, in Order
An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision
His first major work, on how sight works. Berkeley argues that distance is not seen directly but “suggested”, mainly through associations with touch, building on William Molyneux’s Dioptrics (1692). It has been called an influential contribution to the psychology of vision, and in the 1732 edition he described sight as a divine visual language.
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge
The book in which he first set out his immaterialism: only minds and their ideas exist, and “esse is percipi”. Its Introduction attacks abstract general ideas, including Locke’s abstract triangle. It made him known to leading writers of the day, though they did not take its conclusions very seriously. A planned second part was lost in manuscript during his travels on the Continent and never rewritten.
Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous
Published in London as a more popular restatement of the Principles. Philonous, the “lover of spirit” and Berkeley’s spokesperson, argues with Hylas, who defends matter. Hylas begins as a naive realist, retreats to the distinction between primary and secondary qualities, and finally, reluctantly, accepts idealism.
De Motu
A short essay in Latin on motion and the foundations of mechanics, written near the end of his 1716–1720 tour of the Continent and published in London in 1721. It criticises Newton’s natural philosophy and Leibniz’s theory of force, and treats Newtonian dynamics in an instrumentalist way.
Alciphron
A set of dialogues against the “minute philosophers”, his name for the freethinkers, written in Newport, Rhode Island, partly from his earlier articles for The Guardian. It is a work of Christian apologetics, and also a key source for his views on language.
The Analyst
A critique of the foundations of Newton’s calculus, his doctrine of fluxions. Berkeley argues that the mathematicians admired by freethinkers rely on concepts that do not survive close scrutiny. The historian of mathematics Florian Cajori called it “the most spectacular event of the century in the history of British mathematics”.
Siris
Written at Cloyne, it began as a book about tar water as a medical remedy and moves on to argue that the causes of physical things must be sought in divine activity. It took the title Siris in its second edition, the same year. It was his last philosophical work and his best-selling book in his lifetime.
In What Order to Read George Berkeley
Berkeley’s philosophy was largely in place by the time he was 28. The New Theory of Vision (1709) prepares the ground, the Principles (1710) states the case against matter, and the Three Dialogues (1713) restates it for a wider audience. The later books apply his thinking to physics (De Motu), religion (Alciphron), mathematics (The Analyst) and finally medicine and God (Siris).
Most readers do best to start with the Three Dialogues, then read the Principles for the argument in its tightest form. The New Theory of Vision is worth reading after that, once you know where its ideas lead.
A reading path
1. Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (1713)
2. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710)
3. An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision (1709)
4. Alciphron (1732)
5. Siris (1744)
Everything Else George Berkeley Published
Beyond the 7 key books: 13 more, grouped by kind.
Open a group with the + to see every book in it.
Mathematics
3
3 books · 1707–1735
- 1707Arithmeticaa mathematical tract
- 1707Miscellanea Mathematicaa mathematical tract
- 1735A Defence of Free-thinking in Mathematicsa follow-up to The Analyst
Philosophy and theology
3
3 books · 1712–1752
- 1712Passive Obedienceon the Christian doctrine of not resisting the supreme power
- 1733The Theory of Vision, or Visual Language, Vindicated and Explaineda defence of the 1709 essay
- 1752Farther Thoughts on Tar-watera sequel to Siris
Social and political writings
7
7 books · 1721–1750
- 1721An Essay towards Preventing the Ruin of Great Britain
- 1725A Proposal for the Better Supplying of Churches in our Foreign Plantationshis plan for a college in Bermuda
- 1735The Queristpublished in three parts, 1735–1737
- 1736A Discourse Addressed to Magistrates and Men in Authority
- 1745A Letter to the Roman Catholics of the Diocese of Cloyne
- 1749A Word to the Wise
- 1750Maxims concerning Patriotism
The years · 1685–1753
Quick facts about George Berkeley
- Known for
- Berkeley is known for immaterialism, the view that physical things exist only as ideas perceived by minds, summed up in the phrase “esse est percipi”, to be is to be perceived.
- 1685
- Born in County Kilkenny, Ireland
- 1713
- Three Dialogues published in London
- 1728
- Marries and sails for America
- 1734
- Becomes Bishop of Cloyne
- 1753
- Dies in Oxford
- Born
- 12 March 1685, Dysart Castle, near Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland
- Died
- 14 January 1753, Oxford, England; buried at Christ Church Cathedral
- Education
- Kilkenny College; Trinity College Dublin (BA 1704, MA and Junior Fellow 1707)
- In America
- Plantation at Middletown, Rhode Island, called Whitehall; back in London in 1732
- Church office
- Bishop of Cloyne, from 1734
- Philosophy
- Immaterialism, also called subjective idealism
The red mark is 1710: the Principles of Human Knowledge, where he first set out his case that matter does not exist.
How George Berkeley Writes: Arguing from Common Sense
Berkeley presents a radical conclusion as the view of plain common sense. He starts from ordinary statements — “The table I write on, I say, exists, that is, I see and feel it” — and argues that saying a thing exists means it is perceived. His target is not everyday belief but philosophers’ abstractions: the Introduction to the Principles takes apart Locke’s abstract general ideas before the main argument begins.
He liked the dialogue form. In the Three Dialogues Hylas, the defender of matter, is led step by step from naive realism to idealism by Philonous, the “lover of spirit”. Alciphron uses the same form against the freethinkers. The method lets him raise the strongest objections in an opponent’s voice and answer them one by one.
He took his idealism into science, mathematics and medicine: De Motu on Newton’s and Leibniz’s physics, The Analyst on the calculus, Siris on tar water and divine causes. His view is not non-dual in the strict sense — he keeps many finite minds and God as a distinct spirit who sustains the world — but it was an early modern case that reality is mental. Arthur Schopenhauer called him the father of idealism, and today Bernardo Kastrup argues for a consciousness-only idealism of his own.
Frequently asked questions about George Berkeley’s books
How many books has George Berkeley written?
This page lists his 7 key books, from An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision (1709) to Siris (1744). He also published mathematical tracts, sermons and many shorter works on religion, economics and Irish affairs; the main ones are listed under “Everything Else” above.
What are George Berkeley’s books in order?
An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision (1709), A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710), Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (1713), De Motu (1721), Alciphron (1732), The Analyst (1734) and Siris (1744).
Where should I start with George Berkeley?
With the Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (1713), which Berkeley wrote as a more popular restatement of the Principles. Then read the Principles (1710) itself for the argument in its tightest form.
What is George Berkeley’s most famous book?
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710), where he first set out his immaterialism and the principle “esse is percipi”. The Three Dialogues (1713) is the most widely read way into the same ideas.
What does “esse est percipi” mean?
“To be is to be perceived”. Berkeley actually wrote “esse is percipi” in section 3 of the Principles, mixing Latin and English; the fully Latin form is commonly attributed to him. The fuller formula, “esse est percipi (aut percipere)”, means to be is to be perceived, or to perceive. Physical things exist as ideas; minds exist as perceivers.
What happens to things when nobody is looking, according to Berkeley?
They continue to exist because God perceives them or wills them. God is central to Berkeley’s account of continued existence, and scholars still debate how exactly it works: whether unperceived things exist as ideas in God’s mind, as God’s decrees, or as perceptions a finite mind would have in the right circumstances.
Did Samuel Johnson refute Berkeley?
Johnson is reported, in James Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson, to have kicked a large stone and said “I refute it thus.” Berkeley himself did not deny that things can be seen and felt (“The table I write on, I say, exists, that is, I see and feel it”); what he denied was matter existing independently of minds.
Is Berkeley, California named after George Berkeley?
Yes. In 1866 Frederick H. Billings, a trustee of the College of California, suggested the name, inspired by Berkeley’s poem Verses on the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America.
Why did Trinity College Dublin remove Berkeley’s name from its library?
In April 2023 the college announced it would rename its main library, the Berkeley Library, because Berkeley had bought enslaved people to work his Rhode Island estate in 1730–31 and wrote a pamphlet suggesting slaves would be more obedient if baptised. Provost Linda Doyle called him “both an owner of enslaved people and a theorist of slavery and racial discrimination”, while stating that his contribution to philosophy is not in question. The library was renamed after the poet Eavan Boland in October 2024.
Is Berkeley’s idealism a form of non-duality?
Only partly. Like non-dual teachings, it denies that a world of matter exists independently of mind. But Berkeley keeps a plurality of finite minds and God as a distinct infinite spirit, so his view is not non-dual in the strict sense. Schopenhauer called him the father of idealism, and modern idealists such as Bernardo Kastrup argue for a single underlying consciousness instead.
Footnotes
- George Berkeley — Wikipedia
- George Berkeley — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2014 archive)
- Berkeley, George — Dictionary of Scientific Biography, via MacTutor, University of St Andrews
- Trinity College to Rename Its Berkeley Library — Daily Nous, 2023
- Works of George Berkeley — Ask About Ireland
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
“The only thing whose existence we deny, is that which philosophers call matter or corporeal substance.”
— George Berkeley, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710), section 35
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