Short Summary: John Locke - History of Philosophy

John Locke (1632-1704) was an empiricist, which is opposite of a rationalist (like Descartes and Spinoza). According to Locke's empiricist view, There is nothing in the mind that hasn’t been sensed (Berkeley and Hume were other empiricists.) Locke had two main questions: Where do we get ideas? and Can we rely on our senses? We are born innocent and then take in information with our senses. A sense is a reflection. (We must classify and process an experience.) We can only perceive simple sensations. But, after eating an apple, we put these simple sensations together and come up with a complex thought ‘apple.” Primary categories – are all quantitative while secondary categories are relative, like color, etc. Locke believed in intuitive knowledge and natural right.

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