A Critical Study of George Berkeley's View on the Causality of Mind

One of the most important theories suggested in the modern period for the solution of the problem of causal relations between mind and body, and also between bodies, was Berkeley’s solution. Berkeley denies the material substance and also the distinction between primary and secondary qualities, and therefore introduces the material world as a collection of ideas. Consequently in his philosophy he denies the natural causation as the relation of cause and effect. In his positive theory of causation he interprets causes as agents, and considers free agents as the only agents. In his philosophy, therefore, causes are limited to minds or spirits, including infinite mind of God and finite mind of humans. He deduces activity of God’s mind from sensible ideas and activity of self from imaginary ideas. Here physical actions are the very ideas of sense or the real things. But the problem is that these actions are God's actions not mine. Moreover when Berkeley wants to prove the existence of the other human minds he proves them by their physical actions that are the very ideas of sense and this, makes the other problem that how both God’s mind and finite minds can cause ideas of sense. It seems that Berkeley for solving of this problem has involved in the occasionalism.