Berkeley's Principles

"Berkeley’s Principles: Expanded and Explained provides a unique, philosophically penetrating introduction to the Principles, one students and teachers alike will find exceptionally helpful and illuminating. Goldschmidt and Stapleford have done an admirable job of ‘translating’ and interweaving Berkeley’s text with insightful commentary in a way that clearly distinguishes Berkeley’s voice from theirs. Anyone exploring Berkeley’s ideas, anyone teaching Berkeley to undergraduates, would do well to give the book serious attention."

John Heil, Washington University in St. Louis, USA

"Berkeley's Principles is one of the most tightly constructed of all of the great works of philosophy. In consequence many of his key arguments are in danger of being passed over by all but the most attentive students. The present volume constitutes a vast expansion of the text by means of the insertion of commentary in amongst Berkeley's own words. This is a wholly original approach to the subject and the result promises to offer teachers of early modern philosophy an extremely useful supplement to more traditional forms of secondary literature."

Arif Ahmed, University of Cambridge, UK

"Goldschmidt and Stapleford have produced a remarkable teaching resource. The style of commentary is innovative, and I expect it to be extremely useful in helping students develop the skills necessary to read a philosophical text."

Daniel Greco, Yale University, USA

"With this book, the authors implement an exciting new method of making great philosophical texts more easily accessible to the reader, by infilling their arguments to attain the clarity and rigour characteristic of contemporary analytic philosophy. This feels like a virtual tutor guiding the reader through the work. In his Preface, Berkeley explains that it will take a ‘thinking reader’ to understand his book. No doubt he would approve of this new format which will enable many more students to become careful readers of this classic of philosophy and to appreciate the boldness of its metaphysical vision."

Christian Onof, Birkbeck College, UK

"A novel idea brilliantly executed. I'm as excited as ever to read Berkeley with my students, now with his spirit as our unobtrusive guide."

Craig Warmke, Northern Illinois University, USA