BeckerKevinE2Phil100F2014
Kevin Becker
Phil 100 Fall 2014
November 17th, 2014 “The Empiricists: the importance of experience in the works of John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume”
Empiricism, or the belief that knowledge is achieved through the senses, was a popular belief amongst some of the greatest modern philosophers. Perhaps the most prominent Empiricists were John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume, all of whom are regarded as some of the most influential philosophers of the last 500 years. Each of those philosophers can be considered Empiricists due to the importance of experience throughout their philosophical principles. More specifically, Locke's empirical views can be seen in his idea of the primary and secondary qualities of an object. Berkeley's empiricism is evident in his critique of Locke's concept of abstract ideas. Lastly, Hume can be considered as the most consistent empiricist of the group as he did not waver from experience being the source of knowledge and at the root of reasoning. His views are evident in his concept of humans having perceptions and impressions and his idea of “self”.
John Locke's empirical views are evident throughout his philosophical principles. Locke believed that there were no such things as innate thoughts and that the only way a person could obtain knowledge about something is through directly experiencing it. This is especially evident in his explanation of objects having primary and secondary qualities. Locke suggests that all things posses two qualities about them: primary qualities and secondary qualities. Primary qualities consist of traits that are completely within the object such as the shape of a ball. This primary quality about the ball will not change even when viewed from a different perspective because that is the physical structure of the ball. On the contrary, a secondary quality is a trait that requires perception by an observer. Secondary qualities are relative to the observer and change depending on the
Phil 100 Fall 2014
November 17th, 2014 “The Empiricists: the importance of experience in the works of John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume”
Empiricism, or the belief that knowledge is achieved through the senses, was a popular belief amongst some of the greatest modern philosophers. Perhaps the most prominent Empiricists were John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume, all of whom are regarded as some of the most influential philosophers of the last 500 years. Each of those philosophers can be considered Empiricists due to the importance of experience throughout their philosophical principles. More specifically, Locke's empirical views can be seen in his idea of the primary and secondary qualities of an object. Berkeley's empiricism is evident in his critique of Locke's concept of abstract ideas. Lastly, Hume can be considered as the most consistent empiricist of the group as he did not waver from experience being the source of knowledge and at the root of reasoning. His views are evident in his concept of humans having perceptions and impressions and his idea of “self”.
John Locke's empirical views are evident throughout his philosophical principles. Locke believed that there were no such things as innate thoughts and that the only way a person could obtain knowledge about something is through directly experiencing it. This is especially evident in his explanation of objects having primary and secondary qualities. Locke suggests that all things posses two qualities about them: primary qualities and secondary qualities. Primary qualities consist of traits that are completely within the object such as the shape of a ball. This primary quality about the ball will not change even when viewed from a different perspective because that is the physical structure of the ball. On the contrary, a secondary quality is a trait that requires perception by an observer. Secondary qualities are relative to the observer and change depending on the