What are physical objects according to either (or both) John Locke or George Berkeley?
This question stems from the metaphysical question “are all objects mind dependent? This essay will look at the idealist viewpoint of George Berkeley (1685-1753), an immaterialist, who denies that matter exists and says the only things that exist are mental things. Berkeley is responsible for the advancement of the theory of immaterialism later altered to subjective idealism. John Locke (1632-1704), a Materialist, who states that knowledge is only determined by experience obtained from our sensory data in conjunction with primary qualities. “How comes it to be furnished” Locke is interested in, as he believes the mind to be a blank slate at birth, how the …show more content…
Locke disagrees with both Berkeley and Descartes regarding ideas and knowledge and how they are acquired. Locke claims that the way we come about knowledge is through careful experimentation and observation. In Locke’s theory of Materialism there are two sources that make up experience, Sensation and Reflection. Sensation is the source of our ideas of external objects like rivers, mountains and houses. For example viewing a yellow object, the object itself is not colored yellow it is the sensory data we are receiving from that object that is telling our mind the object is yellow. Reflection is the source of our ideas of mental objects like reason, doubting and believing. Reflection in this context means observing inside one’s own mind the operation(s) Locke refers to reflection as an internal form of senses or sense data. It is only when the external sense and the internal reflection are present do we gain …show more content…
Locke accepts Descartes views on perception but changes it slightly to fit his empiricists view. Known as Locke’s casual theory of perception which breaks down perceptible qualities into two categories, primary qualities and secondary qualities. Primary qualities are known as extension, shape, motion, rest, solidity and number. Second qualities are known as colors, sounds, taste and smell. Locke states that secondary qualities do not exist outside the mind, when you see the color of an object, the color is in your mind not in the object itself. Primary qualities are those that can be quantified or mathematised better known as the properties of an object whereby the qualities are dependent on the object not independent of it. Mathematics and physics shows us the visual proof of these abstracted qualities. This addresses the core of this question that objects are mind dependent shown by Locke, that Primary Qualities exists outside of the mind and would exist whether or not human minds are present to perceive them. Secondary Qualities only exists in the mind and together the two interact to give us ideas about an object we experience. There is a gap in this theory that Locke addresses and that is a human can also think of someone else’s experience or another object they have never seen before which Locke answers by saying his theory is about
This question stems from the metaphysical question “are all objects mind dependent? This essay will look at the idealist viewpoint of George Berkeley (1685-1753), an immaterialist, who denies that matter exists and says the only things that exist are mental things. Berkeley is responsible for the advancement of the theory of immaterialism later altered to subjective idealism. John Locke (1632-1704), a Materialist, who states that knowledge is only determined by experience obtained from our sensory data in conjunction with primary qualities. “How comes it to be furnished” Locke is interested in, as he believes the mind to be a blank slate at birth, how the …show more content…
Locke disagrees with both Berkeley and Descartes regarding ideas and knowledge and how they are acquired. Locke claims that the way we come about knowledge is through careful experimentation and observation. In Locke’s theory of Materialism there are two sources that make up experience, Sensation and Reflection. Sensation is the source of our ideas of external objects like rivers, mountains and houses. For example viewing a yellow object, the object itself is not colored yellow it is the sensory data we are receiving from that object that is telling our mind the object is yellow. Reflection is the source of our ideas of mental objects like reason, doubting and believing. Reflection in this context means observing inside one’s own mind the operation(s) Locke refers to reflection as an internal form of senses or sense data. It is only when the external sense and the internal reflection are present do we gain …show more content…
Locke accepts Descartes views on perception but changes it slightly to fit his empiricists view. Known as Locke’s casual theory of perception which breaks down perceptible qualities into two categories, primary qualities and secondary qualities. Primary qualities are known as extension, shape, motion, rest, solidity and number. Second qualities are known as colors, sounds, taste and smell. Locke states that secondary qualities do not exist outside the mind, when you see the color of an object, the color is in your mind not in the object itself. Primary qualities are those that can be quantified or mathematised better known as the properties of an object whereby the qualities are dependent on the object not independent of it. Mathematics and physics shows us the visual proof of these abstracted qualities. This addresses the core of this question that objects are mind dependent shown by Locke, that Primary Qualities exists outside of the mind and would exist whether or not human minds are present to perceive them. Secondary Qualities only exists in the mind and together the two interact to give us ideas about an object we experience. There is a gap in this theory that Locke addresses and that is a human can also think of someone else’s experience or another object they have never seen before which Locke answers by saying his theory is about