Locke slides Flashcards
Is Locke a rationalist or an Empiricist?
empiricist
His work background
- British philosopher
- Oxford academic
- Physician
what kind of philosophy is he known for?
Epistemology and Political Philosophy
Locke is known for this phrase:
“Life, Liberty, and Property”
He is the father of ____
Father of Liberalism
(Modern philosophy)
where does all of our knowledge come from?
through our sense-experience
Locke rejects what kind of ideas?
Innate ideas (a priori ideas)
What argument is used to support why rationalists believe in innate ideas?
the general assent argument
What is the general assent argument?
Everyone agrees on these things
Lockes objections to the general assent argument
- We could all assent for other reasons.
- Supposedly innate principles (like non-
contradiction) are actually NOT universally assented to. (Ex: children and idiots)
Innate principles are NOT universally assented to. What is also not assented to?
Innate moral ideas which are only out of convenience and not practiced universally
Innate ideas are in the mind but waiting to be discovered. What does Locke say to this?
NO!
“If truths can be imprinted on the understanding without being perceived, I can see no difference there can be between any truths the mind is capable of knowing… they must all be innate, or all adventitious; in vain shall a man go about to distinguish them.”
“He therefore that talks of innate notions in the understanding, cannot mean such truths to be in the understanding as it never perceived, and is yet wholly ignorant of. For if these words ‘to be in the understanding’ have any propriety, they signify to be
understood.”
Is the idea of god innate?
No because not not all people know of god
Does locke believe in god? why or why not?
Yes. We know god by observing the natural world
What does Tabula Rasa mean
Blank slate
What is the blank slate theory?
The mind is a white paper or blank slate. All knowledge comes from experiences
Two kinds of experiences that produce all our ideas
sensations and reflections
sensations
Yellow, white, heat, cold, soft, hard, bitter, etc.
reflections
thinking, doubting, believing, reasoning, knowing, willing, etc.
Two kinds of ideas
simple and complex
simple
Uniform appearance in the mind; not distinguishable into different ideas.
(like whiteness, sweetness, softness)
complex
Made up of simple ideas
(like a marshmallow)
Which ideas can we construct in our mind?
complex ideas
Which ideas can we NOT invent or destroy
simple ideas
where are our ideas produced from
From the qualities of bodies in the world
Do our ideas of things correspond to how things look out there?
no
Veil of Perception problem
How do we know that the ideas inside us correspond with the ideas outside us if we can’t step outside ourselves
Two kinds of qualities in things
primary qualities and secondary qualities
Primary qualities
- Solidity, extension, figure, motion, rest, and number.
- Inseparable from bodies (dividing wheat example)
what are secondary qualities produced by?
primary qualities + our senses
Secondary qualities
colors, sounds, tastes
So what does the world look like “out there”?
- Only our ideas of PRIMARY qualities resemble their objects.
Ideas of SECONDARY qualities do not because they are mediated through our senses.
(Ex. “Pain” is not in the flame, but produced by its matter)
If a tree fell in the woods but no one was around to hear or see it, did it actually fall?
Yes. Primary qualities exist even when we aren’t there
Does Locke solve Descartes “Interaction problem?”
no
Does Locke think there is a mind-independent world? Whats his explanation?
He thinks there is a mind-independent world. How do we know? Locke says “shut up.” He doesn’t answer why
What does Locke think about causality?
Causality is a fact
