Berkeley on Abstraction

Although a significant amount of literature has been devoted to Berkeley’s critique of abstraction, ¹ there are three aspects of his discussion that have not received the attention they deserve. First, it is not generally recognized that Berkeley developed three distinct lines of criticism of the doctrine of abstract ideas in Sections 10 through 13 of the Principles of Human Knowledge. Secondly, many commentators have failed to acknowledge that the most plausible construals of Berkeley’s criticisms do not require that abstract ideas be construed as mental images. ² Finally, in at least two of his three criticisms of the doctrine of abstraction, Berkeley’s arguments show that, given their own philosophical principles, the several proponents of the doctrine of abstract ideas could not consistently claim that it is possible to form abstract ideas.