The essay about human understanding is a 1689 philosophical work written by John Locke. The essay argues that no inborn ideas are present in a child’s mind at birth. Instead, human thoughts are formed from the child’s experiences. Therefore, the essay challenges the likelihood of inborn ideas and provides different theories of human knowledge. It has been said that Locke described the mind at birth to be in a blank state (28). From this foundation, the author constructs a new theory of human knowledge.
First, John Locke tries to disprove the view of the French philosopher René Descartes that there are some ideas present in the mind of a newborn baby. Locke divides his negation into two; first, there are no inborn concepts. Second, there can never be inborn factual knowledge. According to Locke, ideas come into children’s minds in steps after birth because of their sensory experience (82). Hence, the author acknowledges that ideas present in the minds of newborn babies result from their experiences in the womb.
In the essay, the author provides a comprehensive explanation of how sensory experiences are formed in the minds of human beings. According to Locke, ideas in a newborn baby’s mind enter the brain through two methods; using the five senses and producing reflections in mind during its operation (86). The essay applies Locke’s theory of ideas to the working of language. According to Locke, words represent people’s ideas in the real world (Locke 28). Therefore, the author considers the use of philosophical terms explaining no clear ideas in mind meaningless and a mere abuse of words.
The essay explores the theory, “of Knowledge and Opinion,” where Locke addresses the key question of whether certain knowledge is possible. He explains that acknowledging internal relations between ideas is the only type of certain knowledge (Locke 28). The author outlines four types of internal connections: existence, co-existence, relation, identity, and diversity. According to Locke, three types of knowledge can be formed from these relations: intuition, demonstration, and sensitive information (28). Finally, the author divides science into three fields: ethics, semiotics, and physics. Therefore, this essay about human understanding created a basic foundation of philosophical empiricism that has been a source of inspiration to philosophers such as David Hume.
Work Cited
Locke, John. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Kay & Troutman, 1847.