Since the publication of Paul J. Olscamp's The Moral

philosophy of George Berkeley (1970), research has focused

on Berkeley's theory of immaterialism as the defining

element of his thinking. New readings of his work

gathered in this volume position immaterialism as a

component of a much broader, overarching apologetic

project, which is highly pragmatic in nature.

Through close examinations of Berkeley's writings

on key political, economic, social, moral and ethical

debates, leading experts demonstrate that his writings

are not simply theoretical but also bound to a practical

concern with the well-being of humanity. The volume

opens with nuanced analyses of Berkeley's utilitarianism,

which contributors position more precisely as a

theological utilitarianism, a facet of natural law

and a theory with a distinctly pragmatic basis. This

doctrine is reconsidered in the context of Berkeley's

moral philosophy, with contributors highlighting the

implications of free will for the evaluation of personal

(or divine) responsibility for one's actions. Berkeley's

concept of desire is reconfigured as a virtue, when

channelled towards the common good of society.

Contributors close by reassessing Berkeley's political and

economic thought and uncover its practical dimension,

where individualism is sacrificed for the greater, national

interest.

The George Berkeley to emerge from this book is

a philosopher deeply concerned with the political,

economic and social problems of his time, whose

writings proposed practical and not simply theoretical

solutions to the challenges facing Britain in the

eighteenth century.