Berkeleys Idealism - Coursework Example

An object cannot exist without being perceived. The act of perceiving on the other hand is the product of mind or spirit. It is the mind and spirit that generate ideas and perceive them. Since spirit perceives ideas, it is referred to as understanding. According to Berkeley, it is the understanding that results in the existence of matter. Therefore, what people consider as the matter is only the idea that is generated from the sensory perception of the physical characteristics of an object. Additionally, one can also deduce that Berkeley asserted that the existence of the objects of knowledge consists in their being perceived because ‘existence’ “consists of the state of actively perceiving or of passively being perceived” (Berkeley 5). According to him, if something lacks the ability to perceive or it cannot be perceived, then there is no need of claiming that it exists. Thus, Berkeley asserted that the existence of the objects of knowledge consists in their being perceived because he believed in any idea of what objects entail being the product of mind and spirit.