Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did Berkeley explain the stability of the physical world?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Painting by Joseph Aubert of Saint Thomas Aquinas seated with a book, wearing a halo and black and white robes, surrounded by ornate patterns in St. Stephens Church, Jerusalem. — Western philosophy Painting of scholastic philosopher St. Thomas of Aquinas by Joseph Aubert, 1900.

In Western philosophy, George Berkeley addressed the stability of the physical world by rejecting the existence of "brute matter," arguing instead that reality consists exclusively of ideas and spirits (minds).12

For Berkeley, the existence of an object is defined by the doctrine esse est percipi ("to be is to be perceived"). While this might suggest that objects cease to exist when humans are not looking at them, Berkeley maintained that the physical world remains stable and persistent even when unperceived by finite human minds. He explained this by positing that God, as an infinite spirit, is always perceiving all things. It is God’s continuous perception and thought that sustain the existence of the physical world, ensuring that objects like trees or tables do not vanish when they fall outside of human observation.1342

By grounding the continuity of reality in the mind of God, Berkeley sought to align his immaterialist philosophy with the commonsense belief that the world remains constant and independent of individual human perception.14