Philosophy Paper On John Locke

The piece “Hunting is Not Those Heads on the Wall” by Baraka and Locke’s "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding Book I: Innate Notions” really complement each other. Baraka states art can’t have thought and Locke states we don’t have innate principles. Baraka’s writing helps prove that we don’t have innate properties. Locke’s literature correlates that art can’t have thought but, it rather provokes the thought process. Baraka and Locke explore thoughts and ideas in their pieces of literature. These authors help prove each other’s theories because, Baraka says art can’t have thought while Locke says we don’t have innate properties.

John Locke's theory of knowledge stated that all knowledge is derived from the senses, that are converted into impressions, that are then made into ideas, either simple or complex. Simple ideas are ones that involve only one sense, whereas complex ideas consist of multiple simple ideas being combined to create a vivid one. Ideas have two qualities, primary qualities, and secondary qualities. Primary qualities are things that are perceived the same for everyone, and secondary qualities are the individual perceptions of

Locke’s states that “All knowledge comes from the senses through experience” interpreted when Locke’s “blank slate” idea to when we are kids we know nothing. Our brains have to make connections to things and these connections are gained through experience and continues

Locke (1632-1704) further discounted the work of Descartes, as well as that of Plato. He maintained that all ideas originate in ones experiences. A newborn is devoid of ideas until experience begins to form these ideas.

Locke also believes that people have innate ideas through experiences. He has three explanations for this idea. Firstly, if we had innate ideas, we would know that we have them, which means that if you have ideas they are conscience and everything you think, you think you think. Secondly, if there were innate truths of reason we would all agree on them. Lastly, our memory cannot recall these innate ideas.

Locke also believed that children are born with no knowledge, or a “blank slate”and it is gained through sensations received and from experiences. John Locke also wrote “Some Thoughts Concerning Education”(1693) which primarily advises people to seize the moment to teach a child when they have the child’s attention. He explains further that adults should simplify questions when needed, answer questions of curiosity, realize that everyone learns differently, people all have different intelligence levels, and teachers and parents should observe children learning to make themselves aware of individual differences(2). Locke was one of the first Empiricists. Empiricism is using reason to come to conclusions, not just having others decide if it is good or bad(6).

He argues that there are no absolute ideas because, if there were, they would be known to children directly at birth, and they are not (Locke, 8). Locke Believes that if his theories were not true than children would be able to walk and talk at birth. Believing that humans do not know anything else before birth, he believed that the mind was a "tabula rasa" or "blank slate", Locke also says that if any idea is pre-programmed before birth, than the idea of God is innate. Since there is not a universally agreed notion of God, the idea of God cannot be innate (Locke, 25-26). It is through our senses, not through a divine source like GOD that we are able to attain knowledge. Locke proclaims that we as humans learn what we see and hear, in other words, personal experience. Locke does not believe that there is any certain knowledge (Locke, 263). Instead, he believes that we only know what we see and hear and also what the individual chooses to learn. Since he believes in learning information he does not believe in a life that is pre-determined. I believe that knowledge is obtained through life experience sharing many of the views of Locke. Locke says that all ideas come from sensation and reflection; all knowledge is founded on experience (Locke, 33). Essentially our ideas begin at a very simple level but when we see, hear, smell, and touch our surroundings, we learn to think and

Like Descartes, Locke also believed in an external world. As an empiricist, Locke relied heavily on the senses to provide true knowledge (Moore 2002). He shared Aristotle’s belief that the mind is a blank slate, also known as tabula rasa, at birth (Paquette 211). Our sense experiences thereafter provide us with knowledge to fill in those slates (Paquette 211). In Locke’s “Representative Theory of Perception,” also known as Epistemological Dualism, he stated that material objects exist and are separate entities from human beings (Paquette 227). However, he also believed that objects exist in the mind as psychological entities (Paquette 227). Locke concluded that people can taste, smell, touch, and see the external world which, in turn, becomes impressions in our minds (Paquette 227). Descartes and Locke are thus seen to be similar in the sense that they both believed in an external world.

Locke feels that we do not have any innate ideas.  Then the question arises of

Locke discards the suggestion of innate ideas. Locke believes that if we always had innate ideas, it would be impossible for us not to perceive or be aware of them. He believes that if there were innate ideas then they would be universal ideas present

     Locke instead is an empiricist, and therefore he directly critiques Descartes epistemic system and tries to establish his own foundation of knowledge. Locke believes that our knowledge of the world comes from what our senses tell us. Locke’s theory state that we are all born with a blank slate, tabula rasa, before we

There are two sides of the Liberal Theory of Justice which are represented by John Locke and John Rawls – Locke being on the liberal side while Rawls is more on the equalitarian side. Each agrees that man is an individual with rights given to him because of his mere existence. Even though Rawls, who came later, does build on Locke and their views are quite similar, they still have some disagreements on what these rights mean and how they should be handled.

So, in essence relation of ideas are truths that are necessary. Matters of fact on the other hand, are facts that require observation, and are not inconceivable. We know that the sun will rise in the morning because we’ve observed that the sun has rose every

When considering knowledge, Locke is interested in the ability for us to know something, the capacity of gathering and using information and understanding the limits of what we know. He believes this also leads him to realise what we perhaps, cannot know. [1] He wants to find out about the origin of our ideas. His main stand-point is that we don’t have innate ideas and he aims to get rid of the sceptical doubt about what we know. The innate ideas which Locke sets out to argue against are those which “the soul receives in its very first being, and brings into the world with it”. [2] “Let us suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters”. [3] This quote depicts the idea of the “Tabula Rasa”, that at birth are minds

John Locke (1632-1704) was the first of the classical British empiricists. (Empiricists believed that all knowledge derives from experience. These philosophers were hostile to rationalistic metaphysics, particularly to its unbridled use of speculation, its grandiose claims, and its epistemology grounded in innate ideas) If Locke could account of all human knowledge without making reference to innate ideas, then his theory would be simpler, hence better, than that of Descartes. He wrote, “Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas: How comes it to be furnished? To his I answer, in one word, from EXPERIENCE.” (Donald Palmer, p.165)