Pedro García Cuartango

George Berkeley. Matter Is an Illusion

The philosophy of George Berkeley can be summed up in a few words: matter does not exist. A radical and provocative claim that he tried to argue in his most important book: “Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous”, written when he was 28. Hylas is a Cartesian thinker who defends the existence of matter, while Philonous is Berkeley himself, who inspired the well-known principle: esse est percipi. This could be translated as: the world only exists if it is perceived.

Spinoza: All Is God and God Is All

Spinoza held that the world is the expression of a divine substance that determines the laws of physics and human actions. I could not agree more. If I had to take one book with me to a desert island, it would be Spinoza's “Ethics”. When I first read the work as a young man, I believed in a universe enlightened by divine wisdom.

Pedro García Cuartango

Jean-Paul Sartre. To exist is to choose

Jean-Paul Sartre, the father of existentialism, argued that man lacks essence and is condemned to be free. Jean-Paul Sartre was a man of many parts: philosopher, novelist, playwright, literary critic and political agitator. But he was, above all else, someone who made the absolute most of a life that was intense.

Pedro García Cuartango