An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

“This, therefore, being my purpose—to inquire into the original, certainty, and extent of human knowledge, together with the grounds and degrees of belief, opinion, and assent—I shall not at present meddle with the physical consideration of the mind.”

Although Locke does not explore the physical processes of the brain, his theories hold interesting implications in the world of neuroscience. This quotation outlines the philosopher’s line of scientific inquiry. He seeks to understand how the mind forms and maintains knowledge and ideas. By breaking down ideas into smaller parts, Locke’s ideas reveal further truths about the neurological workings of the brain.

“The senses at first let in particular ideas, and furnish the yet empty cabinet, and the mind by degrees growing familiar with some of them, they are lodged in the memory, and names got to them.”

Empiricism is the core of Locke’s argument. The philosopher challenges the accepted theory of innate knowledge and proposes that the mind comes into the world as a blank sheet of paper, which experience fills with knowledge. As an advocate for science and observation, Locke views each person as a scientist, taking in information by watching and experiencing the world through the senses. This information is stored as simple ideas; reflection and perception help shape ideas into more complex thoughts. This aligns with the themes The Tabula Rasa Theory and Empiricism and the Role of Experience.

“Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper void of all character, without any ideas. How comes it to be furnished? Whence comes it by that vast store which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it with an almost endless variety? Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from experience.”

Like the previous quotation, this passage contributes to the themes The Tabula Rasa Theory and Empiricism and the Role of Experience. Locke proposes that there is no such thing as an innate principle.