John Locke's Epistemology
John Locke was a 17th century empirical philosopher. In his work An Essay concerning Human Understanding, he set out to examine the sources of human knowledge, and to what degree of certainty these sources of knowledge were ultimately capable of achieving. Like Descartes before him, he was concerned about the validity of present human knowledge, but unlike Descartes, he did not seek absolute epistemological and metaphysical certainty. He was prepared to accept the fact that some knowledge or understanding was beyond human comprehension. Locke begins his essay in Book 1 by arguing against the concept of innate ideas. Empiricists such as Locke claim that nothing can come a priori or prior to experience. Locke believed the mind at birth was like a tableau Rasa or blank slate, which experience can then make its mark. In chapter one, of Book one, Locke tackles the most favorable argument for innate ideas, the evidence of "universal consent". This argument states that all cultures have common ideas concerning such things as fire, heat, and numbers. However, Locke counters this argument with "Universal consent proves nothing innate". Locke explains that these ideas are universal not because they are i
However, there must be something there, because otherwise the sense experiences that are dropped on the blank sheet could never be analyzed. This type is where all knowledge of objects in the physical world originates. Locke does not take into consideration innate capacities as being something a priori in the mind. Locke states there are three degrees available to the human mind, intuitive knowledge, demonstrative knowledge, and sensitive knowledge. The first type, compounding, is simply the combination of two or more simple ideas to form a more complex idea. John Locke's work An Essay Concerning Human Understanding was said to usher in the Enlightenment. It is important to realize that he did not claim that his philosophy could discover all certainties, but that it could discover those things that were certainly beyond our comprehension. For Locke this type of knowledge is the most certain, and provides the foundation of all other knowledge. For Locke all ideas are classified as either simple or complex. These are formed by comparing one idea to another. Locke answers this question by stating that, ideas will only resemble external objects in the world to the degree God wills it. Demonstrative knowledge is the degree of knowledge we can know by revealing through a process of logical steps, certain certainties. These ideas are formed by three different activities of the mind, compounding, relating, and abstracting. Simple ideas according to Locke are the most fundamental mental particles. The idea of a grape would be formed by the simpler ideas of roundness, red, and soft.
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