June Downey’s Thesis on Berkeley on the Will

abstract: This paper introduces readers to a master ’s thesis defended by June Downey to the Philosophy Department of the University of Chicago in 1898. I have two goals. The first and major goal is to show that an unknown and unpublished piece of work from the end of the nineteenth century is, in fact, well worth reading. Downey ’s paper makes useful contributions to the field by foregrounding the importance of activity in Berkeley ’s metaphysics and in making a novel use of his Philosophical Commentaries . Finally, taking on board the usefulness of Downey ’s unknown work adds insights about the project of adding women to accounts of the history of philosophy.