Work Classification Layer
Compare Works
Pick two or more works to set their attribute fingerprints, dimension-by-dimension passages, and shared school embodiments side by side. Especially useful for author-stage comparisons (Wittgenstein early vs late) and for setting a single tradition's foundational texts against each other.
An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision
Berkeley's 1709 first major work — the immaterialist theory of vision; touch and sight as heterogeneous
Attribute Fingerprint
Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.
| Attribute | An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision (Early) |
|---|---|
| Time · Extent | Infinite |
| Time · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Time · Grain | Continuous |
| Time · Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Time · Traversability | Linear |
| Time · Dimensionality | One |
| Time · Direction | Uni-directional |
| Space · Extent | Infinite |
| Space · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Space · Curvature | Flat |
| Space · Dimensionality | Three |
| Space · Locality | Local |
| Matter · Extent | Infinite |
| Matter · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Matter · Conservation | Conserved |
| Matter · Dimensionality | Three |
| Matter · Locality | Local |
| Observer · Time Instance | Single |
| Observer · Space Instance | Single |
| Observer · Knowledge Extent | Partial |
| Observer · Knowledge Retainment | Partial |
| Observer · Physicality | Embodied |
| Observer · Agency | Active |
| Observer · Number | Plural |
| Observer · Metaphysical Agency | Personal |
| Observer · Moral Authority | Reason |
| Observer · Theological Method | — |
| Energy · Extent | Infinite |
| Energy · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Energy · Conservation | Conserved |
| Energy · Dispersibility | Irreversible |
| Information · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Information · Cosmic Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Personal Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Granularity | Continuous |
Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence
What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.
Time
An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision
The 1709 early-Berkeley Dublin period.
Space
An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision
The Trinity College Dublin philosophical setting.
Matter
An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision
The perceived material objects whose perception the essay analyses.
Observer
An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision
The perceiving subject as proper-philosophical object.
Energy
An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision
The cognitive-perceptual energies of vision.
Information
An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision
The perceptual-philosophical content of the essay.
Internal Tensions
Where each work's argument pulls against itself.
The New Theory of Vision has been variously assessed — defenders see proper early-modern empiricist-perceptual analysis, mainstream perception-psychology has substantially modified specific claims while preserving the foundational framework.