Philosophy and Personal Development

Those who have not taken the time to explore the wonderful world of philosophy may consider it as having very little practical value or benefit in the real world.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The word philosophy is derived from the Greek words "philo" meaning love and "sophia" meaning wisdom. Therefore it is the love of wisdom and the seeking of knowledge in understanding the nature of the universe, man, and the human condition. What could be more relevant?

How does philosophy contribute to personal development?

Studying philosophy and the works of some of the greatest thinkers in the history of the world is invaluable in helping us determine who we are and what we are doing here. Contemplating what the great philosophers have found to be meaningful and worthy assists us in establishing our own views on life, our purpose, and our values.

William Ralph Inge said: "The object of studying philosophy is to know one’s own mind, not other people's".

More than just a pursuit of knowledge, philosophy is also an activity; one that teaches us to analyze, assess and reason. It is an instrument for acquiring and honing critical thinking and problem solving skills. Anyone pursuing a career in law is required to take courses in philosophy for the purposes of cultivating logical and methodical thinking.

If it were not for philosophy and logic, knowledge about ourselves and the world we live in would be very limited.

Each month this section will feature a philosopher from a different period in history and his contributions to Western thought. Enjoy the information and allow it to expand your thinking and viewpoint.

George Berkeley was born March 12, 1685 at Kilkenney, Ireland of noble English ancestry. He attended Trinity College in Dublin where he earned a Master’s degree in 1707 and as a student, fellow and teacher developed his most important philosophical work.

The essence of Berkeley's philosophy was his assertion that that matter doesn't exist. He held that all objects perceived outside ourselves are simply ideas that exist only in the mind. He radically claimed that 'esse ist percipi' – meaning 'to be is to be perceived.'

This philosophy, and others like it, which take the view that the external world is somehow produced by the mind, is known as idealism. As well as being considered an empiricist, Berkeley was also widely known as the father of philosophical idealism. He maintained that God, in whose mind all things exist at all times, implants in us in an orderly manner, all ideas. Therefore reality, or knowledge of the world, consists of the rational communication of ideas between God's eternal mind and our infinite minds.

Unlike John Locke , who also argued that ideas rather that external objects themselves are perceived, Berkeley stated that there is no distinction between primary (mind independent or existing in objects) and secondary (mind dependent or existing in us) qualities. He maintained there is no way of knowing whether our ideas of things are correct representations of that which they are supposed to represent. We have no reason to suppose they are caused by external objects, so therefore there can be no material substance. Hence:

"When we do our utmost to conceive the existence of external bodies, we are all the while only contemplating our own ideas."

For Berkeley, there is likewise a definite distinction between ideas and minds. All the objects of human knowledge are either ideas immediately experienced through sensation (taste, feel, seeing), ideas we hold from thinking about our emotions, or ideas formed from memory and imagination. The mind is not one of our ideas "but a thing entirely distinct from them, wherein they exist…whereby they are perceived; for the existence of an idea consists in being perceived."

When Berkeley received objections and criticisms regarding the role of science and various physical scientific findings, he argued that the proclamations of science were useful theories rather than factual accounts.

In one of his best-known works, Principles of Human Knowledge, Berkeley clearly and plainly presents the argument against materialism, extols the tenets of idealism, and puts forth a proof of the existence of God.

A famous verse that enshrines Berkeley's doctrine was written by Ronald Knox and is as follows:

There was a young man who said, 'God Must think it exceedingly odd If he finds that this tree Continues to be When there's no one about in the Quad.' The reply 'Dear Sir: Your astonishment's odd; I am always about in the Quad. And that's why the tree Will continue to be Since observed by, Yours faithfully, God.'