Summary Of An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, By John Locke
For all of human history, writers and thinkers have explored human nature and the question, “What does it mean to live in the world?”. The question itself is multi-faceted in that one must understand human nature and the world around him or her to even approach the question. And for years, people have expressed their opinions on this through literature, song, and art. And often, the answers center around the power and authority of an individual to make morally just decisions to benefit both his or herself and the world. Individualism develops through the eyes of faith, reason, morality, and authority. The exploration of thought extends through multiple time periods and many writers. The emerging theme of individualistic morality can be seen
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in the Early Modern period, the Enlightenment, the 19th Century, and the 20th Century. In each of their works, Rene Descartes, John Locke, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn explore human nature and individualistic authority.
In the Early Modern period, individualism was a newer concept that emerged following the exit of a feudalistic society, where the community was organized into a strict order determined by the state. The pre-modern period was one based on the Catholic Church beliefs and a synthesis between faith and reason. With the development of aristocracy and monarchy, the concept of authority was challenged. For the first time, it seemed the beliefs of pre-modernity could not hold. This shift in reality and the view of authority begins modernity. Individualism became the focus of many works. One of the works that explores individualism is Rene Descartes’ work “Discourse on Method.” In this work, Descartes develops the idea of an individual as “the thinking self,” thus leading to his title as the godfather of the modern world. Descartes believes there is a greater force at work in the hands of fate, but he also believes in the power of the individual to create reform. People must look within to find truth. The method for finding truth begins by stripping away all bias and judgements, dividing up difficulties, carrying on reflection, and having complete thoroughness. Even under this method, Descartes recognizes that “it is almost impossible that our judgements should be so excellent or solid as they should have been had we been guided by its means alone” (88). This goes to say that people are human, and it is not realistic to be expected for every judgement to be dropped, Descartes just wishes to emphasize the importance of truth coming from within. Morals are a necessary in finding the truth and they are an essential part of being human. However, Descartes’ biggest point is his famous statement, “I think therefore, I am,” which is a foundational truth of Cartesian thought that establishes the notion that authority begins with the individual.
With the Enlightenment, individualism developed in conjunction with reason.
The Enlightenment itself was all about the convergence of global thought as many thinkers explored reason apart from faith. Questioning and doubt became a key focus of writing and was even encouraged as something that moral individuals should do. And following the exploration of doubt, the human mind became the arbiter of truth. One of these key thinkers was John Locke, who presented his own ideas about morality and individualism. Locke has both a philosophical and political point of view. He takes an optimistic approach toward human nature. In “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”, Locke detailed his view that all knowledge is learned through experience and because of this people are inherently good. He discusses how people are to live in a moral functioning world and the personal responsibility of individuals. In doing this, Locke’s first point is to examine how people learn and gain knowledge. Locke believes that innate knowledge is nonexistent, and people are to learn everything from experience. In a world that had previously believed that the soul came into the world with principles already established, his idea was radical one. Locke was one of the first to suggest a blank slate in the mind and to claim that ideas come into one’s mind through experience and are then organized within the mind. Locke establishes individual authority in that the person is the one who must gain this knowledge and no one person is granted a slate with more knowledge than another. In this way, Locke even supposes that opportunities are equal in the form of knowledge. Similar to Descartes, Locke puts a lot of focus on the thinking self and how men consciously think through ideas (146). However, he looks more deeply into thought itself and how thoughts develop. For Locke, sensation and reflection are essential to any form of thinking because it is through thinking that knowledge is formed. He claims that
“observation, turned upon by either external objects, or upon the internal operations of our minds, is that which supplies our understanding with all the materials of thinking,” meaning that it is up to each person to individually take in what he or she observe in the world around him or her and to reflect upon it and from there form starting points of knowledge (146). In his work, though John Locke focuses on thought itself, he also makes a big claim towards individualism. By giving the individual human mind the power to form knowledge on its own, he thus gives the individual power as well. While his way of thinking is different from Descartes claims about thought and its relevance to existence, Locke does indeed show how important thought is in order to be a moral individual in the world.
In the 19th Century, ideas of Romanticism were constantly floating around in traces of thought. Nature, mysticism, wonder, imagination, heroism, and emotion crept into all thought of the time, but most importantly there was a rise in the value of inward reflection and expressing oneself. With this reflection came the exploration of the meaning of being moral. In his work “On the Genealogy of Morals,” Friedrich Nietzsche explores how truth can be found how it relates to the purpose of self. Prior to Nietzsche’s time, morality was believed to develop from religion and reason, but Nietzsche does not believe that this is the only way to get at human nature. Instead, Nietzsche believes that the real narrative to be unpacked further is how human nature is related to power. He sees the western moral project as a failure because people do not recognize powers of work around them or realize their true selves. For this and his theory as a whole, Nietzsche is viewed as the first post-modernism thinker. In his work, Nietzsche completely denies that there is a universal truth, but instead suggests that truth comes from the power within individuals. He believes that the truth comes from the “noble, mighty, highly placed, and high-minded” people who chose their own good and their truth (341). That is to say that the truth is in the heroic, in the people and actions that determine how the world runs. There is no one universal truth that gives meaning to the good, but the good is found in what is useful. And the good people are those who take action, the ones who have power and use it to advance the world around them. The nature of good is connected to hierarchy and power and the bad originates from the base and lowly. In his work, Nietzsche presents a call to the people of action as he justifies that action is the starting point of truth. Likely his most important contribution to the fight for individualism is his claim that “all truly noble morality grows out of triumphant self-affirmation” (345). For in this statement, he gives the power to the individual as having the power to form his or her own morality and thus his or her own conscience and call to action. Nietzsche focuses a lot on truth, but he also explains morality in a totally new way. Both Descartes and Locke that came before him are known for showing what it means to live as a moral individual in the world, but it is Nietzsche who deeply explores the moral part of that statement. With the 20th Century came diversity of thought and the introduction of choice. In time, it became clear that the modern world was a world of choice, but with that choice came the burden of freedom. Many thoughts of the time were influenced by the World Wars and what they displayed. For the first time, there was totally rampant war that allowed for the deaths of more people than previous centuries combined. With all this death, it became evident that people must explore what it truly means to be moral in a world where people are killed fighting for their country. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn explains the new morality in his speech, “A World Split Apart.” He discusses a split between the eastern and western world and explores progress in relation to freedom and happiness. Solzhenitsyn fears the corrosiveness of freedom and speaks toward political correctness if people are to live morally. He believes in the law because it helps people to be moral. Ultimately, Solzhenitsyn feels that one must live for higher things and live to make the world a better place. If man were born only to be happy, man would never die, but since people do die, people must be more spiritual. And in the end Solzhenitsyn sees the ultimate goal should be “to leave life a better human being than one started it” (507). And in a way this quote brings everything full circle. In the works of Descartes, Locke, Nietzsche, and Solzhenitsyn, they each explore what it means to be a moral individual, but truly Solzhenitsyn’s call to leave the world a better place sums it all up perfectly. All thinkers are human so it is really no surprise that individualism and human nature have been a constant focus of writing. Through the works discussed here, individualism developed and shaped how morality itself was viewed. Thinkers such as Descartes, Locke, Nietzsche, and Solzhenitsyn reminds people that there is something beautiful in the world that can start within the individual himself.
in the Early Modern period, the Enlightenment, the 19th Century, and the 20th Century. In each of their works, Rene Descartes, John Locke, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn explore human nature and individualistic authority.
In the Early Modern period, individualism was a newer concept that emerged following the exit of a feudalistic society, where the community was organized into a strict order determined by the state. The pre-modern period was one based on the Catholic Church beliefs and a synthesis between faith and reason. With the development of aristocracy and monarchy, the concept of authority was challenged. For the first time, it seemed the beliefs of pre-modernity could not hold. This shift in reality and the view of authority begins modernity. Individualism became the focus of many works. One of the works that explores individualism is Rene Descartes’ work “Discourse on Method.” In this work, Descartes develops the idea of an individual as “the thinking self,” thus leading to his title as the godfather of the modern world. Descartes believes there is a greater force at work in the hands of fate, but he also believes in the power of the individual to create reform. People must look within to find truth. The method for finding truth begins by stripping away all bias and judgements, dividing up difficulties, carrying on reflection, and having complete thoroughness. Even under this method, Descartes recognizes that “it is almost impossible that our judgements should be so excellent or solid as they should have been had we been guided by its means alone” (88). This goes to say that people are human, and it is not realistic to be expected for every judgement to be dropped, Descartes just wishes to emphasize the importance of truth coming from within. Morals are a necessary in finding the truth and they are an essential part of being human. However, Descartes’ biggest point is his famous statement, “I think therefore, I am,” which is a foundational truth of Cartesian thought that establishes the notion that authority begins with the individual.
With the Enlightenment, individualism developed in conjunction with reason.
The Enlightenment itself was all about the convergence of global thought as many thinkers explored reason apart from faith. Questioning and doubt became a key focus of writing and was even encouraged as something that moral individuals should do. And following the exploration of doubt, the human mind became the arbiter of truth. One of these key thinkers was John Locke, who presented his own ideas about morality and individualism. Locke has both a philosophical and political point of view. He takes an optimistic approach toward human nature. In “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”, Locke detailed his view that all knowledge is learned through experience and because of this people are inherently good. He discusses how people are to live in a moral functioning world and the personal responsibility of individuals. In doing this, Locke’s first point is to examine how people learn and gain knowledge. Locke believes that innate knowledge is nonexistent, and people are to learn everything from experience. In a world that had previously believed that the soul came into the world with principles already established, his idea was radical one. Locke was one of the first to suggest a blank slate in the mind and to claim that ideas come into one’s mind through experience and are then organized within the mind. Locke establishes individual authority in that the person is the one who must gain this knowledge and no one person is granted a slate with more knowledge than another. In this way, Locke even supposes that opportunities are equal in the form of knowledge. Similar to Descartes, Locke puts a lot of focus on the thinking self and how men consciously think through ideas (146). However, he looks more deeply into thought itself and how thoughts develop. For Locke, sensation and reflection are essential to any form of thinking because it is through thinking that knowledge is formed. He claims that
“observation, turned upon by either external objects, or upon the internal operations of our minds, is that which supplies our understanding with all the materials of thinking,” meaning that it is up to each person to individually take in what he or she observe in the world around him or her and to reflect upon it and from there form starting points of knowledge (146). In his work, though John Locke focuses on thought itself, he also makes a big claim towards individualism. By giving the individual human mind the power to form knowledge on its own, he thus gives the individual power as well. While his way of thinking is different from Descartes claims about thought and its relevance to existence, Locke does indeed show how important thought is in order to be a moral individual in the world.
In the 19th Century, ideas of Romanticism were constantly floating around in traces of thought. Nature, mysticism, wonder, imagination, heroism, and emotion crept into all thought of the time, but most importantly there was a rise in the value of inward reflection and expressing oneself. With this reflection came the exploration of the meaning of being moral. In his work “On the Genealogy of Morals,” Friedrich Nietzsche explores how truth can be found how it relates to the purpose of self. Prior to Nietzsche’s time, morality was believed to develop from religion and reason, but Nietzsche does not believe that this is the only way to get at human nature. Instead, Nietzsche believes that the real narrative to be unpacked further is how human nature is related to power. He sees the western moral project as a failure because people do not recognize powers of work around them or realize their true selves. For this and his theory as a whole, Nietzsche is viewed as the first post-modernism thinker. In his work, Nietzsche completely denies that there is a universal truth, but instead suggests that truth comes from the power within individuals. He believes that the truth comes from the “noble, mighty, highly placed, and high-minded” people who chose their own good and their truth (341). That is to say that the truth is in the heroic, in the people and actions that determine how the world runs. There is no one universal truth that gives meaning to the good, but the good is found in what is useful. And the good people are those who take action, the ones who have power and use it to advance the world around them. The nature of good is connected to hierarchy and power and the bad originates from the base and lowly. In his work, Nietzsche presents a call to the people of action as he justifies that action is the starting point of truth. Likely his most important contribution to the fight for individualism is his claim that “all truly noble morality grows out of triumphant self-affirmation” (345). For in this statement, he gives the power to the individual as having the power to form his or her own morality and thus his or her own conscience and call to action. Nietzsche focuses a lot on truth, but he also explains morality in a totally new way. Both Descartes and Locke that came before him are known for showing what it means to live as a moral individual in the world, but it is Nietzsche who deeply explores the moral part of that statement. With the 20th Century came diversity of thought and the introduction of choice. In time, it became clear that the modern world was a world of choice, but with that choice came the burden of freedom. Many thoughts of the time were influenced by the World Wars and what they displayed. For the first time, there was totally rampant war that allowed for the deaths of more people than previous centuries combined. With all this death, it became evident that people must explore what it truly means to be moral in a world where people are killed fighting for their country. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn explains the new morality in his speech, “A World Split Apart.” He discusses a split between the eastern and western world and explores progress in relation to freedom and happiness. Solzhenitsyn fears the corrosiveness of freedom and speaks toward political correctness if people are to live morally. He believes in the law because it helps people to be moral. Ultimately, Solzhenitsyn feels that one must live for higher things and live to make the world a better place. If man were born only to be happy, man would never die, but since people do die, people must be more spiritual. And in the end Solzhenitsyn sees the ultimate goal should be “to leave life a better human being than one started it” (507). And in a way this quote brings everything full circle. In the works of Descartes, Locke, Nietzsche, and Solzhenitsyn, they each explore what it means to be a moral individual, but truly Solzhenitsyn’s call to leave the world a better place sums it all up perfectly. All thinkers are human so it is really no surprise that individualism and human nature have been a constant focus of writing. Through the works discussed here, individualism developed and shaped how morality itself was viewed. Thinkers such as Descartes, Locke, Nietzsche, and Solzhenitsyn reminds people that there is something beautiful in the world that can start within the individual himself.