Essay Concerning Human Understanding (SparkNotes Philosophy Guide)
By SparkNotes
()
About this ebook
Making the reading experience fun!
SparkNotes Philosophy Guides are one-stop guides to the great works of philosophy–masterpieces that stand at the foundations of Western thought. Inside each Philosophy Guide you’ll find insightful overviews of great philosophical works of the Western world.
Read more from Spark Notes
Romeo and Juliet: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Julius Caesar: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King Lear: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bird by Bird (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Macbeth: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Much Ado About Nothing: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAtlas Shrugged SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Outsiders (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAs You Like It: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tempest: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Henry V: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Where the Red Fern Grows (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMerchant of Venice: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Richard III: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51984 SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tempest: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5100 Years of Solitude (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Henry IV Parts One and Two: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet: No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novels Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Measure for Measure: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dune (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRomeo and Juliet SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Winter's Tale: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Julius Caesar: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Raisin in the Sun (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe House on Mango Street (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Comedy of Errors: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Kill a Mockingbird SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLord of the Flies SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Essay Concerning Human Understanding (SparkNotes Philosophy Guide)
Related ebooks
Free Will and Evolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSome Turns of Thought in Modern Philosophy: Five Essays Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGale Researcher Guide for: John Locke: Overview Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFreedom and Neurobiology: Reflections on Free Will, Language, and Political Power Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelected Topics in Philosophy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Enlightenment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuantum Evolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Holographic Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Principles of Philosophy (SparkNotes Philosophy Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Idea of God as Affected by Modern Knowledge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Analyses of Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Classic Readings in Philosophy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of David Bentley Hart's The Experience of God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSome Turns of Thought in Modern Philosophy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKnowing, Doing, and Being: New Foundations for Consciousness Studies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMichael Oakeshott's Skepticism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Philosophy of the Enlightenment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTraditions in Linguistics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConsciousness: How Our Brains Turn Matter into Meaning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Analysis of Mind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnderstanding the Free-Will Controversy: Thinking through a Philosophical Quagmire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsZen and the Art of Funk Capitalism: A General Theory of Fallibility Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRudolph Eucken : a philosophy of life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Limits of Knowledge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Idea of God in Early Religions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Brief History of the Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5'I Am'- In a Post Modern World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pursuing Presence of Facts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhilosophical Debates Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Book Notes For You
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Good Energy by Casey Means:The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill: Conversation Starters Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Midnight Library: A Novel by Matt Haig: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor: Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Outsiders (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorkbook for The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counter intuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Untamed by Glennon Doyle: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SUMMARY Of The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in Healthy Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century: Discussion Prompts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman: Conversation Starters Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker: Conversation Starters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides: Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Summary of Bad Therapy by Abigail Shrier: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for Essay Concerning Human Understanding (SparkNotes Philosophy Guide)
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Essay Concerning Human Understanding (SparkNotes Philosophy Guide) - SparkNotes
Essay Concerning Human Understanding
John Locke
© 2003, 2007 by Spark Publishing
This Spark Publishing edition 2014 by SparkNotes LLC, an Affiliate of Barnes & Noble
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
Sparknotes is a registered trademark of SparkNotes LLC
Spark Publishing
A Division of Barnes & Noble
120 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
www.sparknotes.com /
ISBN-13: 978-1-4114-7313-3
Please submit changes or report errors to www.sparknotes.com/.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Introduction
Book I
Book II, chapters i-vii
Book II, chapter viii
Book II, chapters ix-xi
Book II, chapters xii-xxi
Book II, chapter xxiii
Book II, chapters xxiv-xxvi
Book II, chapters xxix-xxxii
Book III, chapter iii, sections 1-9
Book III, chapters iii-v
Book III, chapters vii-xi
Book IV, chapters i and ii
Book IV, chapters iii-viii
Book IV, chapters ix-xi
Book IV, chapters xii-xxi
Context
Summary
Important Terms
Philosophical Themes, Arguments, Ideas
Important Quotes
Key Facts
Review & Resources
Summary and Analysis
Introduction
Love it or hate it, no contemporary student of philosophy can ignore John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Initially published in December of 1689, it has been one of the most influential books of the last three centuries; in fact, it is not much of a stretch to say that every subsequent philosopher has been touched by Locke's ideas in some way. The unique importance of Locke's Essay lies in the fact that it is the first systematic presentation of an *empiricist* philosophy of mind and cognition: a theory of knowledge and belief based wholly on the principle that everything in our mind gets there by way of experience. The first principle of an empiricist philosophy of mind is often illustrated by the notion of a Tabula Rasa, or a blank slate (an illustration Locke himself made famous in the Essay): at birth, our minds arrive into this world completely empty, like a pure white sheet of paper, and it is only as experience writes
on this paper that ideas and thoughts begin to form.
As the first explicit formulation of an empiricist philosophy, the Essay had a profound effect upon the intellectual climate of the late 17th century, which until then was wholly dominated by two warring camps, the established Aristotelian *Scholastics* on the one hand and the upstart Cartesian *rationalists* on the other. Locke, with his thoroughgoing, but rational, empiricism, cut a middle road through these two extreme positions, and offered an alternative view of the world and our access to it, which proved enticing to many thinkers. Roughly contemporary empiricists such as George Berkeley, and slightly later ones such David Hume, built their philosophies on the foundation Locke had laid out. Kant, seeking to reconcile empiricism with rationalism in the late 18th century, drew heavily from Locke's work, in large part giving precise and novel formulation to ideas which stemmed originally from the Essay. Even in the 20th century, empiricists such as Rudolph Carnap, G.E. Moore, and W.V. Quine, explicitly expressed their debt to Locke's writings. Locke's contribution to empiricism can hardly be overstated; not only did he give us one of the most detailed and plausible accounts of the position to date, but, in a sense, he spurred the entire movement with his innovative ideas.
The Essay, though, is far from a narrow work on a single topic. It is, in fact, staggeringly wide-ranging, covering such diverse topics as philosophy of language, philosophy of logic, moral philosophy, and philosophy of religion in addition to the better known philosophy of mind and cognition. Locke treats each of these topics intelligibly and provocatively, making his book a convenient starting point for students and scholars alike.
Book I: Attack on Innate Knowledge
Summary
Book I, Of Innate Notions,
is an attack on the theory that human beings are born knowing certain things. This idea can take one of two basic forms. Either the theory can be one about principles (i.e. statements of fact) or it can be one about ideas (the sort of things that we have names for, such as God,
blue,
or existence
). In the first three chapters of Book I, Locke focuses his attention solely on principles. In the last chapter he turns to ideas.
The main thrust of Locke's attack on innate knowledge can be found in Chapter ii. Here he criticizes the possibility of innate theoretical principles. Locke's argument against innate theoretical principles can be captured in three sentences: If, in fact, there are any innate principles, then everyone would assent to them. There are no principles that everyone assents to. Therefore, there are no innate principles. Locke is very careful to demonstrate that there are no principles to which everyone would assent, providing his proof as a dialectic: the nativist (or believer in the existence of innate principles) asserts his claim in its strongest form (i.e. there are certain theoretical principles to which everyone would assent), to which Locke objects. The nativist then revises his claim to accommodate Locke's objection, Locke objects again, and so on until the nativist position becomes trivial. Throughout, Locke's strategy is to focus on those principles which he views as the best possible candidate for universal consent, namely that whatever is is and nothing can be and not be at the same time.
Locke then moves on (in chapter iii) to the possibility of innate moral knowledge. Here too, he claims, there is no universal consent. No man would consent to even the most obvious moral laws without a great deal of reasoning first. Finally, Locke concludes Book I by considering the possibility of innate ideas. On this point he has several lines of attack. First, he draws our attention to developing children (a tactic to which he will appeal repeatedly throughout the text). He claims that they clearly come into the world devoid of ideas, since they only ever seem to have the ideas of those things they have experienced. Next he turns to the ideas which make up the propositions he was investigating in chapter ii--ideas such as existence
and identity
--and argues that these are some of the least likely ideas to be innate. These ideas are so obscure and confusing that often one needs several degrees just to become clear on them; obviously, if children were born with these ideas we would not find them so difficult to grasp. (The point here is: since these ideas are not innate, neither are the propositions that they make up. This is just in case you failed to be convinced of the arguments in chapter ii). Last, he turns to the idea of God, the idea he feels is the likeliest candidate for innateness. This idea, however, is clearly not innate, since many cultures recognize no god.
Analysis
Because the argument for the claim that there is no universal consent for any theoretical principles is long and arduous and also extremely important historically, it demands some detailed analysis. The best way to understand the argument is by breaking it up into dialogue form, giving both the nativist and Locke chances to speak in turn. The dialogue opens with the nativist's statement of his position in unqualified form: There are certain principles that are universally agreed upon and the only way to explain this is to suppose that these principles are