Berkeley on the Metaphysics of Mind

Abstract

Berkeleyʼs philosophy holds that we have knowledge of our own minds. However it is not very clear what the mind is. I examine the mind from two aspects. First, I examine the epistemological aspect of the mind. I show that for notional knowledge we do not have any notion of mind without ideas. The notional knowledge of mind includes the faculties which ascend from sense, memory, imagination, and reason to intellect. Yet they are only faculties, not substance. Secondly, I examine the metaphysical aspect of mind as substance. Its essence is one, and its one participates in One of To Hen. Through this examination we will have the fundamental principles to reconstruct the metaphysics of mind and God in Berkeleyʼs Philosophy.