ABSTRACT
One need only remark the title of a recent article on Berkeley’s ethics to realize the thinness and piecemeal nature of the scholarship in sphere of Berkeley’s philosophy. A precursor to both Kant and British rule-utilitarianism Berkeley’s emphasis on universalization in morality has gone especially unnoticed. In order for rule-utilitarianism to have content, of course, there must be rules whose utility has been ascertained. In order for rule-utilitarianism to have content, of course, there must be rules whose utility has been ascertained. Berkeley is considering the state of “anarchy”, that state which obtains when no one obeys the civil law. Berkeley maintains that everyone is always able to “not-do” anything. The universal observation of prescriptions is precluded because it is not the case that one always can perform the act(s) required to fulfill prescription(s). Berkeley claimed to have written a treatise on ethics, the capstone of his philosophical system, while in Italy.
