John Locke's Representationalism

Paper Summary:

This paper examines John Locke's concept of representationalism. It specifically analyzes his "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" and discusses the central concern of the essay - the means by which we acquire knowledge. The paper discusses Locke's arguments throughout his essay and looks at all aspects of knowledge and knowledge acquisition.

From the Paper:

"Locke traces the origin of ideas and the ways in which understanding operates upon them so he may be able to see what knowledge is. His first inquiry is how ideas come into the mind; the next is to show that they constitute the whole material of our knowledge. All our ideas, he claims, come from experience. The mind has no "innate ideas," but it does have innate abilities; it perceives, remembers, and combines the ideas that come to it. Locke contends that the mind is analogous to a blank slate on which the senses make impressions. This concept makes sense; Locke's metaphor of the tabula rasa illustrates that without experience, no characters are written on the "tablets" of the mind. Locke insists that neither the principles of logic and metaphysics nor the principles of morality are inscribed in our minds from birth because children and the mentally handicapped do not have them. Moreover, even if we did accept these principles, their universality could be better explained in terms of self-evidence or shared experience than by reference to a presumed innate origin."

More papers on John Locke's Representationalism:

• Essay # 138022 : "John Locke: Social Contracts and Metaphysical Truth"
• Analytical Essay # 130257 : "John Locke and the Declaration of Independence"
• Analytical Essay # 134721 : "John Locke's Influence"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: