Arthur Collier

Arthur Collier (1680-1732) was an English philosopher and Anglican clergyman who independently developed idealist arguments similar to those of George Berkeley. Born in Wiltshire, Collier served as rector of Langford Magna from 1704 until his death. His major work, Clavis Universalis (1713), argued that the external world has no existence independent of perception, grounding this view in both philosophical reasoning and theological considerations. Collier maintained that only God and finite minds exist, with all material objects being merely ideas in the mind. His idealism was motivated partly by his desire to resolve philosophical puzzles about space and infinity, and partly by theological concerns about God's omnipresence and the nature of divine creation. Though less influential than Berkeley during his lifetime, Collier's work represents an important strand of early modern idealism that connected metaphysical speculation with religious doctrine, particularly regarding God's relationship to the created order.