lec 10 lec 6
Overview of Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book Two
This book focuses on the origin of ideas, rejecting the notion of innate knowledge as presented in Book One.
Central question: If ideas aren't innate, how do we acquire them?
Answer: Through experience.
The Nature of Ideas
Locke uses the term "idea" broadly to refer to all mental content: perceptions, sensations, memories, and fantasies.
Claims that everyone is conscious of having ideas.
Criticism of Locke's loose terminology among philosophers suggests potential ambiguities.
Locke's approach reflects a non-dogmatic, common-sense perspective.
Critiques of Locke
Gilbert Ryle and Mortimer J. Adler offer critiques from perspectives that link Locke's philosophy to Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas.
Adler argues that Locke's focus on personal ideas as the only objects of consciousness leads to subjective awareness, isolating knowledge.
Counterpoint: Awareness should be of the external object, not merely the idea.
This critique highlights a significant philosophical debate concerning individual perception versus external reality.
PhilosophICAL Responses to Locke's Ideas
The issue of whether Locke holds a representational theory of perception.
Douglas Greenlee's Argument: Locke's conception of ideas includes multiple interpretations beyond inner objects, suggesting a mix of representational and direct realist elements.
Icy Tipton's View: Proposes a direct realism where Locke acknowledges awareness of outward things.
Locke's Theory of Perception
Examines the distinction between immediate awareness of internal ideas vs. external objects.
Philosophers debate whether Locke views ideas as inner representations or if they merely aid in noticing external objects.
Thomas Reid criticizes the perception systems emerging around Locke and others, advocating for direct realism.
Error and Illusion: Representative theories explain how we can misperceive the world despite our ideas being seemingly accurate.
Primary and Secondary Qualities
Primary qualities: inherent properties of objects (e.g., size, shape, motion).
Secondary qualities: perceptions generated by objects that do not inherently reside in them (e.g., color, taste).
The distinction often leads to questions about mental versus external qualities.
Ambiguity of the term "quality": Varies between mental perceptions and the objective properties of objects, affecting understanding of matter and substance.
Locke's reliance on atomic theory (corpuscular philosophy) introduces complexity in discussing observable objects.
Awareness and Ideas
Examines the tension in Locke's work between striving for realism (recognition of external objects) and limitations on direct knowledge of those objects.
The concept of the veil of ideas presents challenges for ensuring perceived ideas accurately represent the external world.
Comparisons to Descartes highlight the absence of innate ideas in Locke’s framework, emphasizing the empirical focus.
Final Remarks
Bertrand Russell’s quote about common sense highlights Locke’s influence on modern thought: suggests that before him, no structured concept of common sense existed, and it has since been predominantly English.
This raises questions about how common sense relates to philosophical inquiry, particularly around ideas and perception.