Borges Use of Berkeleys Idealism Essays -- Essays Papers

Borge's Use of Berkeley's Idealism Jorge Luis Borges drew upon a number of philosophical and intellectual models in his writing, one of which is George Berkeley’s subjective idealism. In "Tlà ¶n, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius," Borges paints a picture of a perfect reality governed by Berkeley’s idea that matter only exists in perception, and in "The Circular Ruins," he presents a man who creates a boy who cannot exist independent of his perception. However, by employing Berkeley’s logic in these stories, Borges is in fact denying Berkeley’s ultimate purpose: the justification of the existence of God. In almost all of his work, Berkeley’s fundamental goal is to logically disprove any thinking that presumes the non-existence of God (Muehlmann 231). In a nutshell, Berkeley argues that matter does not exist outside of human perception. In his Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, he asserts the following: If it be allowed that no idea nor anything like an idea can exist in an unperceiving substance, then surely it follows, that no figure or mode of extension which we can either perceive or imagine, or have any idea of, an be really inherent in matter. (Three Dialogues 139) According to Berkeley, only qualities of matter exist, and only in the perceiving mind. For instance, fire as an object does not exist, but the sensation it produces in the mind does because the mind can perceive it. Outside of the perception of heat, fire does not exist because the mind is not present to acknowledge it (123-128). Berkeley expands this principle further to justify the existence of God, arguing that for ideas to be perceivable, they must be perceived. Thus, anything that cannot be perceived by the mind can only exist in the mind of Go... ...rcular Ruins," or a culmination of several different forces, as in "Tlà ¶n, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" (59). Subjective idealism is enough to explain the nature of human perception, but is hopelessly theocentric concerning Berkeley’s ultimate purpose. Borges exploits this weakness, and subsequently uses Berkeley’s crowning philosophical achievement to defend agnosticism and reinforce the uncertainty surrounding God. Works Cited Berkeley, George. Principles of Human Knowledge. London: Penguin, 1988. Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous. London: Penguin, 1988. Borges, Jorge Luis. Ficciones. Trans. Emecà © Editores. New York: Grove Press, 1962. Dunham, Lowell and Ivar Ivask. The Cardinal Points of Boges. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1971. Muehlmann, Robert G. Berkeley’s Metaphysics. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995.