An Essay Concerning Human Understanding - Volume I

by John Locke

Since it is the UNDERSTANDING that sets man above the rest of sensible beings, and gives him all the advantage and dominion which he has over them; it is certainly a subject, even for its nobleness, worth our labour to inquire into. The understanding, like the eye, whilst it makes us see and perceive all other things, takes no notice of itself; and it requires and art and pains to set it at a distance and make it its own object. But whatever be the difficulties that lie in the way of this inquiry; whatever it be that keeps us so much in the dark to ourselves; sure I am that all the light we can let in upon our minds, all the acquaintance we can make with our own understandings, will not only be very pleasant, but bring us great advantage, in directing our thoughts in the search of other things...

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Psychology, History, 17th Century

443 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1689

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

John Locke was an English philosopher. He is considered the first of the British Empiricists, but is equally important to social contract theory. His ideas had enormous influence on the development of epistemology and political philosophy, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers and contributors to liberal theory. His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. This influence is reflected in the American Declaration of Independence.

Locke's theory of mind is often cited as the origin for modern conceptions of identity and "the self", figuring prominently in the later works of philosophers such as David Hume, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant. Locke was the first Western philosopher to define the self through a continuity of "consciousness." He also postulated that the mind was a "blank slate" or "tabula rasa"; that is, contrary to Cartesian or Christian philosophy, Locke maintained that people are born without innate ideas.

Reviews

[ananena]

Só os dois primeiros capítulos do livro III

[Michael Dorais · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reviewing Volume 1, books 1 and 2.
"An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding" by John Locke, is a difficult read. I would not recommend it if you are only interested in concise point-by-point descriptions of philosophical positions and arguments for them. As other reviewers have said Locke is long-winded and often repetitious.

I would recommend this book to people who are in one of several conditions. 1) You are interested in the intellectual history of western thought and and want to read original sources. I think this work should be considered essential for you. It is a pivotal work in western philosophy. 2) You have already read much of philosophy, including metaphysics and epistemology and are looking for a deep dive into one important philosophers views and arguments and you appreciate some dwelling on subjects, even if it includes repetition for the time it gives you to ponder the same subject. 3) You are a student of philosophy and are embarking on advanced study of empiricism. Since Locke is the founder of British empiricism and this book is Locke's major work on the subject, you will want to read this. 3) You just want to have read for yourself one of the classics of English literature and are intellectually tough and patient.

In this book Locke makes the case that we do not have innate ideas. ('Ideas' as used by Locke are essentially 'concepts'.) All ideas are from sensation or reflection, with the reflection using the simple ideas from sensation as its material. Locke explores many implications and applications of that thesis. Among them include an analysis of ideas that breaks them down into simple ideas and those derived from them by modes, combination, relation, etc. He examines the relationship between the ideas reality. How ideas are not the things themselves but produced by the power of things to produce the simple ideas in us. He puts forth a position about what the idea of substance is - how it is not a simple (direct) idea of an actually existing substance, but a collection of ideas that we observe together and the substance is assumed. It helps to understand the concept of substance (refer to descriptions of Aristotle's substance). He also puts forth an interesting thesis about case and effect, desire, will, and liberty, identity, and person. In the end he examines what it means for an idea to be adequate or inadequate and how ideas might relate to the concepts of true and false, with a discussion of how we associate ideas, rightly and wrongly.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

gut verständlich, wiederholt sich aber oft

[Ramona Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for the Great Books of the Western World ten-year reading project.