Mathematics: Signification and Significance

Abstract

Clare Marie Moriarty emphasises the role the doctrine of signs plays in Berkeley’s philosophy of mathematics. Moriarty demonstrates how important it is to look at what might typically be seen as the ‘fringes’ of Berkeley’s philosophical corpus. His philosophy of mathematics, much celebrated but disproportionately under-represented in Berkeley scholarship, is an area where the doctrine of signs, and semiotics more generally, play a crucial role. Thus, part of Moriarty’s aim is to show how far-reaching the doctrine of signs is in Berkeley’s oeuvre. But Moriarty’s aim is also to establish a relation of significance that goes in the other direction. Her thesis is that properly understanding Berkeley’s doctrine of signs is virtually impossible without an appreciation of the influence and impact of developments in his thoughts concerning mathematics.