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Irish Philosophy in the Age of Berkeley

The Irish Philosophy in the Age of Berkeley conference will take place in the Trinity Long Room Hub Neill Lecture Theatre on 5 and 6 April, 2019.

George Berkeley’s Treatise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710) and Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (1713) are standard texts in the philosophy curricula of most European and American universities. No other Irish philosopher, and no other work of Berkeley’s, has achieved this ‘canonical’ status. However, there was a vibrant philosophical scene in Ireland in Berkeley’s lifetime, to which Berkeley was far from the only contributor. Studying this broader Irish philosophical discussion will improve our understanding of Berkeley and also of early modern philosophy more generally.

The Irish Philosophy in the Age of Berkeley conference will include general exploration of the intellectual culture of early modern Ireland as well as examination of specific thinkers with significant connections to Ireland active during Berkeley’s lifetime (1685–1753), including Robert Boyle (1627–1691); Edward Synge (1659–1741); John Toland (1670–1722); Peter Browne (d. 1735); Henry Maul (1676-1758); Mary Barber (c. 1685-1755); Francis Hutcheson (1694–1746); Constantia Grierson (1704-1732); Laetitia Pilkington (c. 1709-1750); and John Austin (1717-1784).

The papers will address:

The Irish context of Berkeley’s philosophy.
The philosophical work of other Irish thinkers active during Berkeley’s lifetime.
The reception within Ireland of other philosophical figures, ideas, and movements.
The reception of Irish philosophy outside Ireland.

Papers presented at the conference will be published as part of the Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements series, Cambridge University Press.

Participants and attendees may also be interested in attending Berkeleian Minds: Will and Understanding, to be held at the University of York on 2 and 3 April.

Invited Papers

Boyle's Powers

Lisa Downing, Professor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, USA

The Wilson-Garber Debate on Berkeley on Corpuscles Reconsidered in Light of Toland and Clarke on the Role of God's Order in Science

Eric Schliesser, Professor of Political Science, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

'Plainly of Considerable Moment in Human Society': Francis Hutcheson and Eighteenth-Century Philosophies of Laughter

Lecturer in Long Eighteenth-Century History, University of Sheffield, UK

Refereed Papers

Berkeley and Previous Bishops of Cloyne on Education as Means of Conversion
Marta Szymańska-Lewoszewska, independent scholar, Poland
Berkeley’s Main Criticism of Shaftesbury and Hutcheson
Samuel Rickless, Professor of Philosophy, University of California San Diego, USA
Francis Hutcheson on Liberty and Self-Mastery
Ruth Boeker, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University College Dublin, Ireland
From Hypatia to Serena: John Toland's Women
Ian Leask, Lecturer in Theology and Philosophy, Dublin City University, Ireland
The Irish Context of Berkeley’s ‘Resemblance Thesis’
Manuel Fasko, Doktorand in Geschichte der Philosophie, Universität Zürich, Switzerland
Peter West, Phd Candidate and Adjunct Lecturer in Philosophy, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
John Austin SJ (1717-84), the First Irish Catholic Cartesian?
Jacob Schmutz, Maître de Conferénces en Philosophie, Université Paris-Sorbonne, France
Peter Browne on the Metaphysics of Knowledge
Kenneth Pearce, Ussher Assistant Professor in Berkeley Studies, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Poverty and Prosperity: The Irish School of Political Economics
Marc Hight, Elliot Professor of Philosophy, Hampden-Sydney College, USA
What the Dublin women of the ‘Triumfeminate’ did with John Locke
Christine Gerrard, Professor of English Literature and Tutorial Fellow, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, UK