John Locke Flashcards
1
Q
background
A
- 1632 - 1704
- interests in Greek, philosophy, politics and medicine
- In 1690, he published “An essay concerning human understanding”
- Concerned with how we acquire knowledge – beginning of British Empiricism.
- Disagreed with Descartes’s suggestion of Innate Ideas – everything is learned.
2
Q
Sensation
A
(like Descartes derived ideas) caused by external stimulation of the senses
3
Q
Reflection
A
remembering past sensory impressions and combining them to from abstractions
4
Q
simple ideas
A
can arise from sensation or reflections; cannot be reduced to simpler ideas
5
Q
complex ideas
A
the combination of simple ideas to form something novel or abstract
6
Q
primary qualities
A
exist in an object whether we perceive them or not; independent
7
Q
secondary qualities
A
exist not in the object, but only in a person’s perception of that object
