Notes, abstracts, papers, exams and problems of Philosophy and ethics

John Locke's Philosophical Contributions

Theory of Knowledge (Epistemology)

Locke, in his work, begins by demonstrating the absence of innate principles in the human mind. He argues that even the idea of God is not innate. Nativism, according to Locke, is a myth; no ideas or knowledge are given to humans prior to experience. To counter nativism, Locke proposes an alternative explanation through the development of mental sense via immediate experience (sensation and reflection).

The core hypothesis is that our mind comes into the world empty, a tabula rasa (blank slate), devoid of knowledge. For Locke, experience becomes the origin and foundation of all knowledge, which must ultimately be referred back to experience for confirmation.

Types of Ideas

Locke... Continue reading "John Locke: Empiricism, Knowledge, and Political Thought" »

Descartes

René Descartes, alongside Kant, is arguably the most important thinker in modern philosophy. Living in the 17th century and dividing his time between France, Holland, and Sweden, Descartes is considered the founder and greatest exponent of Rationalism. A fundamental concern of his thought was the construction of a robust philosophical method.

The basis of the Cartesian method, which, when applied to metaphysics, forms the foundation of knowledge, lies in mathematics (Descartes dedicated part of his work to this field). He concluded that only what can be reduced to mathematical motions can be truly understood. This highlights the importance Descartes placed on reason (as opposed to tradition, experience, or faith), which he identified... Continue reading "Introduction to Plato and Descartes" »