John Locke

Daniel Dwyer
Mykytyn, N.
January 11, 2013
HZT 4U1-01

John Locke’s Some Thoughts Concerning Education John Locke, famous sixteenth century philosopher and “Father of Classical Liberalism” wrote a work based on the human mind and learning methods entitled Some Thoughts Concerning Education. This work outlines Locke’s views on how the brain absorbs and remembers new ideas through a theory known as the “tabula rasa” or blank slate. This theory constitutes that humans are born with a blank mind and that as we are taught new concepts, they are inscribed into this blank slate and remain there until we pass on. According to Locke, the goal of education is not to create a scholar, but to create a virtuous man. He believes that learning
Locke explains part of a pre-established concept introduced by Aristotle, known as priori and posteriori knowledge. His work places more emphasis on posteriori knowledge in that this learning method imposes that humans are born with a blank slate in their mind and that as they learn, subjects and ideas are essentially burned into their minds. This is based off of the basic “nature versus nurture” concept in that humans learn in one of two ways. These are either through nature, in which we are born with knowledge and that we are basically unlocking it through experience and all learning is basically recollection. The other method emphasized by Locke is nurturing, humans are taught through action and all learning is just the basic collection of new ideas. Locke held firmly the idea that with the tabula rasa, one is given the ability to bend their mind and tailor themselves to certain ways of learning. This is an important point in Locke’s Some Thoughts Concerning Education because it is the basis for the entirety of this work. This lets people define who they are, or, their character. If every human were to learn through recollection then truly we have no freedom as this means our character and mind are virtually predestined for us. Tabula rasa gives humans the freedom to learn on our own and shape our own
Locke was a general liberal Protestant Christian, meaning he held very strong his values and ethics. This is apparent when he explains that moral learning is more important than any other kind of learning. Locke believed that the goal of education was not to raise a man of passion, but to raise one of reason and morals. He also held that another goal of education was not to create a scholarly man, but to create a virtuous man, much like Locke himself. Normally, on the standpoint of religion, philosophers were men of science and logic. Locke directly opposed these earlier ideas by stating that morals, virtues, and ethics were a more important section of learning than any variety of math, algebra, chemistry, etcetera. More specifically, Locke wanted the educational system to instill what he named, the Principle of Virtue. This was an idea that Locke wished to impose that would divert a child’s mental attention from their appetites and desires to reason. Locke deeply rooted his philosophies in his devout dedication to Christianity. Locke strongly supports moral learning because he believes that one who holds strong morals and implements them in their daily lives can improve the quality of society as a whole. He believes that society looks well upon the virtuous because society profits from virtuous acts. Locke wanted to teach these values to young people still going through earlier stages