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John Locke vs Rene Descartes
John Locke vs Rene Descartes
Rene descartes vs john locke
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Despite what might be expected, Locke and Descartes correlation are that they had studied epistemology but had different views on the ways of knowledge. Locke was an empiricist who believed that people are born with a "blank slate" Locke does not trust that there is a specific knowledge. John Locke tries to explain the brain during childbirth is a clear slate. Which is then reinforce with sensory experiences that are composing. Locke aims to say that knowledge is an absolute predicament to a very high degree. Locke claims that innate ideas cannot do anything for our knowledge. He claims that if you have any kind of knowledge you must have something to basically prove where that knowledge comes from. He also claims that knowledge of objectivity …show more content…
The five senses originate from the outside world. Locke says that in light of the fact that everybody has distinctive perspectives of Gods presence, how could it be that we were altogether conceived with some learning of God? These are a portion of the ways the two philosophers differ on how we acquire our insight. As expressed above, Locke trusts that we acquire information through our five senses (the outer world). Presently I will demonstrate to you how that hypothesis functions. He characterizes thoughts as prompt aftereffects of considerations or recognition. Thoughts are created through uprightness of qualities. Those qualities are separated into three sorts of characteristics. The main sort is our essential qualities. Those are essential since they are intrinsic. We can comprehend mass, figure, number, and movement. At that point comes in our optional qualities. They give us the capacity of understanding appearance, for example, shading, surface, flavor, and shape. Our third sort is the last bit of the puzzle. It gives us sentiments we have never felt, for example, joy &pain. When we feel something hot out of the blue and it hurts us it shows us to not do that once
One of Locke’s largest points is "All ideas come from sensation or reflection” (Locke 101). He thinks that man is completely blank when they are born and that their basic senses are what gives them knowledge. Locke states, “Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper” (Locke 101). Locke is basically saying that human nature is like a blank slate, and how men experience life in their own ways is what makes them good or evil. Overall, Locke believes that any and all knowledge is only gained through life
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? Whence comes it by that vast store which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it with an almost endless variety? Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from experience (Locke, 1690/1947, bk. II, chap. 1, p.26).
Concerning Human Understanding disputed the notion that human beings are born already imprinted with innate ideas. All knowledge, locke asserted, derives form ones observations of the external world. Belief in witchcraft and astrology, among other similar phenomena, thus came under attack.
Locke’s Theory of knowledge against Descartes which he believes there are no such innate ideas. He explains that if the idea is truly in one’s mind then it must be understood and some humans do not understand these ideas. From his evident, the noncontradiction law, “it is impossible for the same thing to be, and not to be”. For example, I work or not work on the philosophy exam but I just can’t do both of them at the same time. He considers the innate ideas are too extreme for humans being to understand and therefore we should reject them. Another Locke’s argument is that if innate idea exists, then it must appear to our minds prior before the instruction. When he mentions about the minds of young children whic...
Our mind then processes that perception into an idea. A great example I can give is from my childhood. I was playing outside by my elderly neighbor and she said, “Stop,” and I did, which made her tell me I was very obedient. I didn’t know what that word meant so I looked it up and did not like the definition. Ever since that day I tried to not be obedient unless I wanted to be or absolutely needed to be. I heard something I didn’t know anything about, researched it and reflected on it and decided I didn’t want to be that. My experience makes me agree with Locke because I was able to process what happened to me and decide for
John Locke’s Essay on Human Understanding his primary thesis is our ideas come from experience, that the human mind from birth is a blank slate. (Tabula Rasa) Only experience leaves an impression in our brain. “External objects impinge on our senses,” which interpret ate our perceptions of various objects. The senses fill the mind with content. Nothing can exist in the mind that was not first experienced by the senses. Dualism resembles Locke’s theory that your mind cannot perceive something that the senses already have or they come in through the minds reflection on its own operation. Locke classifies ideas as either simple or complex, simple ideas being the building blocks for complex ideas.
Locke feels that we do not have any innate ideas. Then the question arises of
As a person you make decisions, see yourself as yourself, and know what your thoughts are. Consciousness extends beyond the mind. What you don’t remember is not part of you. Locke initiates a third term between the soul and body, one that is mediated more or less, between the two. His approach wasn’t quite exactly scientific ideology, if so it would identify too closely with the brain and consciousness.
Throughout the passage of time, philosophers have written and discussed many topics in philosophy. Sometimes, these philosophers agree on ideas or sometimes they make their own assumptions. There are two philosophers who had different ideas concerning where innate ideas come from and how we get these types of ideas. Rene Descartes and John Locke were these two philosophers with the opposing argument on innate ideas. The place where Descartes discusses his views were in the Meditations on First Philosophy and Locke's argument is located in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. By using these sources I will be able to describe the difference between these two arguments on innate ideas.
The development of thoughts in a human brain are formulated through sparks in the brain; the clashing of cells. The concept of our mind making connections to other connections, was developed by philosopher John Locke in his, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In this essay Locke discusses the theory that people are born as blank slates, than they slowly pick up concepts from others. People therefore are a product of people. John believed that, “Since it is the understanding that sets man above the rest of sensible beings, and gives him all the advantage and dominion which he has over them; it is certainly a subject, even for its nobleness, worth our labor to inquire into.” (Locke 2). Which is to say that one should analyze the process of their own thoughts. Locke goes on to say, “The understanding, like the eye, whilst it makes us see and perceive all other things, takes no notice of itself; and it requires and art and pains to set it at a distance and make it its own object. But whatever be the difficulties that lie in the way of this inquiry; whatever it be that keeps us so much in the dark to ourselves; sure I am that all the light we can let in upon our minds, all the acquaintance we can make with our own understandings, will not only be very pleasant, but bring us great advantage, in directing our thoughts in the search of other things.” (Locke 2). The process of this understanding is entwined in the novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, by Laurence Sterne. In the novel, a man recounts his life whilst deferring to seemingly insignificant tales of the people in it. Although the narrator has claimed the work to be a biography, he does not speak ofte...
The first philosopher, John Locke, laid the foundations of modern empiricism. Locke is a representational realist who touches reality through feelings. He believes that experience gives us knowledge (ideas) that makes us able to deal with the world external to our minds. His meaning of ideas is "the immediate object of perception, thought, or understanding." Locke's ideas consist of simply ideas which turn into complex ideas. Simple ideas are the thoughts that the mind cannot know an idea that it has not experienced. The two types of simple ideas are; sensation and reflection. Sensation is the idea that we have such qualities as yellow, white, heat, cold, soft, hard, bitter, and sweet. Reflection ideas are gained from our experience of our own mental operations. Complex ideas are combinations of simple ideas that can be handled as joined objects and given their own names. These ideas are manufactured in the human mind by the application of its higher powers. Locke believes in two kinds of qualities that an object must have; primary and secondary. Primary qualities o...
When asked the three epistemological questions the three empiricists all have different answers. The first of these questions is; is knowledge possible? John Locke (1632-1704) states “Knowledge, however, is not something lying out there in the grass; it is located in our minds. So to understand knowledge we have to analyze the contents of our minds and see what they tell us about the world” (pg. 93). Locke believes that all of our known truths are made up of simple ideas. Simple ideas are what make up the rudimental elements of everything else we know to be true to us today. For example, they consist of ideas such, hot and cold, soft and hard, bitter and sweet. They also give us experience through are own mental o...
John Locke, a philosopher that published a book, titled “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” in this book Locke talks about sensitive knowledge. What is sensitive knowledge? Locke definition of sensitive knowledge is “Knowledge is the perception of the agreement or disagreement of two ideas” (IV, I, 2) knowledge is the agreement or disagreement of two ideas that you are aware of. The “ideas” Locke mention in this definition are things that you immediately perceived, things that you immediately became aware of. For example, a person sees a chair in front of them, they are perceiving the chair directly and those thing you are perceiving are your ideas (the chair). In this paper, I am going to show how Locke successfully defends himself
John Locke was an empiricist who believed that people could acquire knowledge from experience. Ideas acted as raw materials and by knowing the relation of the ideas, we got knowledge. All ideas are based on experience but knowledge can also be justified by intuition and demonstration. By sensation and reflection, we get sensitive, intuitive and demonstrative knowledge with different degrees of certainty and ways of evidence. In investigating the two main sources of ideas of Locke, we then will explain the two kinds of knowledge which based on reasoning by using suitable examples.
They both divide their metaphysics and epistemology into two sections. Descartes explains his in two meditations while Locke explains his in two qualities. They both describe how the mind plays a very important part in describing what is real. Of course the mind is a main factor for humans to describe what is real and how we receive our knowledge but they both explain their theories in different ways. Descartes explains that our main source of knowledge comes from our sense perception. In his theory we have to doubt our perceptions and ideas. In his view nothing is certain but us, he makes it simple by saying “I think therefore I am. He uses the immaterial mind to explain the existence of things. Locke on the other hand believes that our main source of knowledge is sensory experience. Locke provides strong evidence of his theory but his theory is known as one of the most confusing in his work. He views that without experience or reason, we have to question our reality and the external world we live in. Through experience comes sensation and reflection and that is how we know what is real because all ideas to form complex ideas come from those two