Definition for View source for Berkeley, George

Berkeley, George (1685 to 1753): Anglican bishop and philosopher, born in Kilkenny, Ireland. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, where he remained until 1713. In his most important books he developed his celebrated claim that esse is percipii—"to be is to be perceived"—that the contents of the material world are "ideas" that only exist when they are perceived by a mind. His remaining work was divided between questions of religious reflection and social reform, an example of which was his (unrealized) dream of founding a seminary for colonists and Native Americans.