Dark matters: Pessimism and the problem of suffering

nor I believe Berkeley successfully resolved: As an advocate of passive obedience to the current secular rulers, would not Berkeley have to condemn the fact that they themselves gained power by overthrowing the Stuart dynasty?And in recommending that Christians accept the doctrines of the current (Anglican) established church and not engage in 'free thinking', how could he avoid the conclusion that the founders of the Anglican church were wrong in not accepting the doctrines of the Catholic Church and asserting their own right to 'free thinking'?In fact, his embrace of passive obedience cost him preferment on some occasions, as critics rightly saw that it could be used to challenge the legitimacy of the House of Hanover.And, as Jones notes, his position on church authority was condemned by contemporaries as a "threat to the liberty from overbearing ecclesiastical authority that the Protestant movement itself represented" (421).Of course, this review can touch on only a small portion of the fascinating material on Berkeley's life presented in this book.And despite the above quibbles, it is an excellent addition to the literature on Berkeley, one that gives the reader a rich feel not just for Berkeley's own life and works, but for the context in which that life and those works took place.