The Most Fundamental Knowledge Units Among Human - Essay Example

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding Locke, in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, discusses the manner in which humans acquire understanding and knowledge. He addresses various aspects of how the human mind functions to facilitate understanding. The most innovative aspect of his argument was his rejection of Plato’s and Descartes’ theories, which had sought to prove that man is born in possession of innate knowledge. Locke introduced the concept of the blank slate to replace the earlier one on innate knowledge. In this theory, he sought to demonstrate that human beings are born without any knowledge at birth that is with a blank slate, and that the only way they can gain knowledge is by experiencing them and then understanding. Locke starts out by proposing three goals to prop up his philosophy. These are discovery of where ideas emanate from, ascertaining what having these ideas mean, as well as examination of opinion and faith issues in order to determine how one can logically proceed when they have limited knowledge. He begins by attacking Plato’s and Descartes’ schools of philosophy that held that human beings are born possessing particular fundamental principles like, “whatever is, is and it is impossible for the same thing to be and not to be” (Locke 28). This belief in innate principles and its usual justification contends that various principles exist and man universally assents to them. Locke, however, argues that no principle exists as an acceptable idea to all humans. In addition, if this universal agreement would be in existence concerning something, then there is a big chance that this consensus was reached by a means other than innate knowledge. He also argues against innate knowledge by claiming that man cannot possess ideas that they have not become aware of and; therefore, human beings cannot claim to possess any kind of principle until it is taught to them or they think it through themselves. Another argument that he offers is that, since human beings varies greatly in their ideas of morality, then it must be that moral knowledge does not occur innately. In yet another argument against innate knowledge, Locke takes on this theory of innate knowledge, especially that proposed by Plato in Theory of Forms, arguing that those ideas that Plato considers innate are so confusing and complex that they require a lot of thought and schooling in order for their meaning to be grasped (Locke 28). Locke also disclaims the notion that God, as an idea, is innate, countering that the existence of God is not universally accepted and, thus, cannot be considered an innate idea. Having formally rejected innate knowledge as a possibility, Locke then attempts to demonstrate the source of knowledge. He puts forward his theory that knowledge comes from either complex or simple ideas. In this case, simple ideas come together to create complex ideas. Thus, the most fundamental knowledge units are simple ideas that are created exclusively from experience (Locke 31). According to Locke, two experiences allow for the formation of a simple idea in one’s mind. These are sensation or what the human mind experiences outside itself via the five senses, in addition to reflection that involves, the human mind turning inward to consider ideas concerning how it functions; for instance, doubting, believing, willing, and thinking. In his opinion, “These two are the fountains of knowledge, from whence all the ideas we have, or can naturally have, do spring” (Locke 31). The author creates four categories of simple ideas. These are; ideas from one sense such as taste or sight, ideas from two or more senses identical to size and shape, reflective ideas, and ideas emanating from combinatory reflection and sensation; for example, substance, pain, pleasure, and unity, as well as existence (Locke 27). He explains what he feels the differences between secondary and primary ideas are. Primary ideas, he argues, resemble their cause and include motion, size, and texture. However, secondary ideas are not so similar to their causes and include odor, sound, and color. Primary ideas, therefore, are separable from matter, while secondary ideas are resultant of the power that an object possesses to create an idea in the mind of its quality. Locke also explores the ability of the mind to remember ideas, refine them, discern between two of them, compare them, come up with complex ideas using simple ones, making a simple idea larger via repetition, and isolating simple ideas from ideas that are already complex. On the ability of man to form complex ideas, he divides the complex ideas into modes, substances, relations, and abstract generals. He then claims that, rather than man possessing ideas innately, he forms them via three of these methods that are, abstraction, comparison, and combination (Locke 27). Locke’s argument on substance or essence in idea formation can be confusing since he, in the article, does not seem to be convinced that it exists. It is evident that Locke uses this concept for a number of aims, through reading this article. Firstly, it is aimed at making language sensible, it is necessary for humans to have the essence. The concept is also necessary to solve the problems that are created by change. For instance, if a tree is considered as being a group of ideas like leaves, green, and tall, then it has to be explained what is to happen if the tree became leafless and short? The idea is not too convincing since it does not explain whether new qualities of the idea changes the tree’s essence to anew thing. From his perspective, the essence important for idea formation will remain the same even as the qualities change. This is confusing and unconvincing. Another reason why the idea is not very convincing is because he argues from the notion that essence is required to explain the unifying factor, which happen spontaneously to make the thing one and distinct from others. While he uses essence to attempt to clarify this resultant unity, he does not use any specific examples to show how it works. Descartes also shared the theory proposed by Locke concerning the limitations of knowledge beyond what was previously accepted by thinkers of his time, although, they differed on the reasons why it seemed as knowledge was limited. For the author, the fact that human beings have limited knowledge is not a practical matter but a philosophical one. He contends that since human beings are not skeptical about their existence and their surrounding environment; this shows the extent of how humans feel the probability of the world’s existence. The enhanced clarity that humans hold the idea of an external world, in addition to the idea, being confirmed by all with the exception of mentally unstable people is essential to Locke’s argument (Locke 28). Work Cited Locke, John. "Essay Concerning Human Understanding." Knowledge and Cerainty (1690): 26- 32. Print. Read More