How did Pierre Bayle's skepticism influence George Berkeley?

The Irish philosopher George Berkeley was significantly influenced by the Continental skepticism represented by Pierre Bayle. While Berkeley’s philosophical development was primarily shaped by empiricism through John Locke, Bayle’s work served as a critical intellectual force during Berkeley's early studies at Trinity College, Dublin.1

Bayle, a master dialectician, utilized his Dictionnaire historique et critique to challenge various philosophical and scientific theories by demonstrating that they inevitably led to contradictions and paradoxes. By skeptically analyzing the works of thinkers like René Descartes and Nicolas Malebranche, Bayle cast doubt on the reliability of human intellectual activity and the existence of the material world itself.2

Berkeley engaged with these skeptical challenges as he formulated his own revolutionary immaterialist principles. While Bayle used skepticism to undermine confidence in human reason and suggest a retreat into faith, Berkeley sought to resolve the resulting philosophical tensions by redefining the nature of existence, famously concluding that "to be" is to be perceived (esse est percipi).12