George Berkeley’s reputation, once secure, has come under great scrutiny in more recent years. Hailing from Kilkenny, Bishop Berkeley was a hugely influential philosopher, mathematician and man of the cloth – but, most pertinent to the times we live in, Berkeley was a slave owner and strong proponent of pro-slavery ideology. Last year, after student protests, Trinity’s board decided to rename the Berkeley library. A new name for the library has yet to be decided. Yet, who was George Berkeley? What was his relationship with Trinity then, and what is his presence on campus like today? 

George Berkeley was born in Dysart, Kilkenny in 1685. He entered Trinity at the age of only 15. He was elected scholar in 1702, was awarded a BA in 1704 and in 1707 he received an MA and a Fellowship. At Trinity, Berkeley held various roles including as the librarian, Junior Dean and as a lecturer in Greek and Hebrew. As the librarian, Berkeley was instrumental in the planning of the then New, but now Old, Library.

It was while at Trinity that Berkeley wrote some of his most important and influential works including An Essay towards a new theory of vision (1709), A Treatise concerning the principles of human knowledge (1710) and The three dialogues between Hylas and Pilonius in 1713. Berkeley became famous for proponing the theory of immaterialism which broadly states that everything is mind-dependent, namely that objects are only real in our minds. 

Berkeley was now firmly established in scholarly circles and was even presented at court in London by none other than his fellow Irishman and wit, Jonathan Swift. Alexander Pope described Berkeley as possessing “every virtue under heaven” while his works were being read all over Europe. On the back of this success, Berkeley decided to embark on a new mission – to set up a colonial university in Bermuda.

While waiting to set up his university, Berkeley moved with his family to a 96-acre estate on Rhode Island. Here, Berkeley owned four slaves named Philip, Anthony, Edward and Agnes. His pro-slavery ideology is clearly seen in his Proposal for the Better Supplying of Churches in our Foreign Plantations and for Converting the Savage Americans to Christianity, which makes for queasy reading. In it, Berkeley lays out his plan for a missionary college that would comprise both of the sons of plantation owners and “the children of savage Americans”, who would be converted to Christianity and turned into missionaries. Berkeley believed that these children could “be procured, either by peaceable methods from those savage nations, which border on our colonies, and are in friendship with us, or by taking captive the children of our enemies”. Furthermore, he proposed “to admit into the aforesaid college only such savages as are under ten years of age, before evil habits have taken a deep root; and yet not so early as to prevent retaining their mother tongue”. His university was never founded as the House of Commons denied his £20,000 pound grant that was necessary for its construction.  

Berkeley returned to London in 1732 and became Bishop of Cloyne in 1734. Until his death, Berkeley divided his time between England and Ireland and continued to publish widely. One treatise, Syris, on the use of tar-water, sold more copies than anything else he had written until then. Berkeley died in Oxford in 1753. In his will, Berkeley stipulated that only a modest £20 be spent on his funeral and the rest be given to charity. His wishes promptly ignored, a large marble memorial was erected in his honour in Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, where his body now lies.

Being of such influence, it is no surprise that Berkeley was commemorated widely after his death.  An entire town in California bears his name, as does The University of California, Berkeley, America’s top ranked public university. In 1967, Trinity built the brutalist New Library, which the Board decided to name the Berkeley library in 1973. Originally, Berkeley was to have a lecture theatre named after him but upon the advice of the Registrar of the college, the library itself was named in his honour, as his “relationship with America increased his fame” and that by naming the library after him, it would improve “the image of the college”. Ironically, it is precisely because of his relationship with America and a concern for the image of the college that the library was de-named this year.  

Berkeley was commemorated on campus well before 1973. Prominently situated in the chapel is a large stained-glass window dedicated to Berkeley. One of three large stained-glass pieces adorning the chancel (the other two windows being dedicated to Richard Graves and James Ussher), the window dates to 1866 and is a riot of colour. Jesus (of Nazareth) takes prime position – he sits in the centre, addressing a throng of interested listeners. A quote from Matthew runs across the middle of the window, saying: ‘Seek Ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness’. At the bottom of the window runs another quote from Matthew: ‘When the multitude heard they were astonished at his doctrine’. Fittingly, right beneath this quote, is the dedication to Berkeley: ‘In memory of the Right Reverend George Berkeley DD Bishop of Cloyne, sometime Fellow of this [college]’. The proximity of the dedication to Berkeley and the quote suggesting “they were astonished at his doctrine” was surely not an accident. Perhaps, even, it was an irreverent quip about how Berkeley’s work was originally received – one of the three members of the Windows Committee, James Henthorn Todd, was known for his sardonic wit. 

Richard W Warren, the MP for Trinity at the time and the incoming provost Humphrey Lloyd both funded the window, donating £300 and £72 respectively to the project (worth around €40,000 in today’s money). Also in the physical sphere of commemoration are the number of portraits of Berkeley that hang in college. Trinity owns three portraits of Berkeley, one hangs in the Exam Hall, the other in the Senior Common room and the other has been missing in action since 1992. It used to hang in the Provost’s House but its whereabouts are currently unknown.

Honouring Berkeley’s contribution to the Classics, in 1752 the Provost and Senior Fellows decided to award two Gold Medals annually to encourage the study of Greek. The medals were funded by Berkeley’s benefaction of one hundred and twenty guineas. Candidates must sit an extra exam in Greek to be awarded a medal. However, the Gold Medals have not been awarded since 2011, primarily due to a lack of interest amongst students. 

Berkeley remains a controversial figure and how college should commemorate him, (if at all), is a question that is likely not going to be satisfactorily answered for a number of years to come. His ghost haunts the exam hall, the chapel and some dusty cupboard of the Classics department. However, regardless of one’s politics, if one wants to find where Berkeley’s presence is strongest, perhaps they should go to the 4th floor of the Ussher library where his many works line the shelves, continuing to educate students just as they did three hundred years ago.