In the Three Dialogues, Berkeley places great weight on common sense. How important is it for his argument that it agrees with common sense? In general, how much should we care what common sense says?

This question allows students to engage with and evaluate one of the central projects in the Three Dialogues: Berkeley's alignment of philosophy with common sense. It also asks them to disentangle his rhetoric from his philosophical argument - if that is at all possible. Students are also encouraged to extract from the text and consider the role and purpose of critical thinking in general.

Many of Berkeley's conclusions - for example the idea that we can never see the same thing twice - seem absurd. How should we approach arguments with seemingly impossible conclusions? Do these conclusions show that the argument must be flawed?

Despite his attempts to argue the contrary, Berkeley's...