Knowledge Tree
Relations (1)
cross_type 2.81 — strongly supporting 6 facts
George Berkeley is fundamentally linked to the concept of the 'self' through his philosophical arguments that the self is an active subject known through 'notions' rather than direct sensory ideas [1], [2]. He posits that the self is essential for understanding the human person [3] and distinguishes it from the bundle theory by asserting it is a dynamic agent [4], [5].
Facts (6)
Sources
Dualism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Winter 2016 Edition) plato.stanford.edu 6 facts
claimGeorge Berkeley entertained a theory similar to David Hume's bundle theory in his Philosophical Commentaries (Notebook A, paragraphs 577-81), but later rejected it in favor of the claim that humans can have a notion, though not an idea, of the self.
claimGeorge Berkeley posits that the nature of the dynamic agent, or the self, is grasped with less transparency than the normal objects of mental acts.
claimGeorge Berkeley argued that while the self and its acts are not presented to consciousness as objects of awareness, humans are obliquely aware of them by being active subjects.
claimGeorge Berkeley's concept of 'notion' can be interpreted either as implying that the self contains more than introspection can capture, or that notions capture the self as totally as ideas capture their objects.
claimGeorge Berkeley argues that the self and its faculties are captured obliquely through the performance of mental acts, rather than being direct objects of those acts, and he refers to this understanding as "notions."
claimGeorge Berkeley concluded that the self, conceived as something distinct from the ideas of which it is aware, is essential for an adequate understanding of the human person.