- Origin of knowledge that is psychological analysis of original sources of knowledge
- The form of knowledge, validity of knowledge and an analysis of limitation of knowledge
- In the modern world Locke is the first philosophere in modern Europe who attracted the philosophers’
attention toward the epistemological problems. He believed that epistemological contemplation is neces-
-sary before metaphysical contemplation.
According to Locke, experience is the original source of knowledge. He has believed sensation and
reflection as the main source of knowledge in experience.
External objects influence our sensory organs. Whatever stimulated sensory organs of ours transmit
in our soul, is called the sensation.
In addition to the sensations, Locke experienced reflections and believed them to be another im
portant source. The reflection is the reflection of internal activities of the mind. It includes memory, logical
processes, pattern etc. It creates the ideas of internal activities in the soul. The human mind has the emotions
of fear, anger, pleasure and pain, etc through reflections only. For example : My mind is sad. He is happy, I
suspect, etc.
According to Locke sensation is a precedence of reflection, that is sensation occurs first
followed by reflection. The origin of knowledge occurs in the soul through these two sources. Thus, it is
clear that according to Locke the basic elements of knowledge are based on experiences. These basic
elements of experience can be termed as the basic unit of knowledge. Lock calls it idea.
Simple Idea
Idea
Complicated Idea
Origin of some simple ideas occurs through the sensation of any one sensory organ, such as as
smell, sweetness, and touch of coolness, etc. The simple ideas occurring through the sensations of more than
one sensory organs – the ideals of speed, pause, size, etc (seeing and touch). The ideas occurring through
reflections – suspicion, memory, contemplation. The ideas occurring through joint action of sensations and
reflections – pleasure, pain, strength, power, unity.
According to Locke, these four kinds of simple ideas form constituents of all knowledge. The soul
needn’t be active to grasp them. But the soul cannot create these simple ideas as the sensations creating these
ideas come from external objects. Thus, it is clear the idea is not a product of our soul.
Philosophy – (10)
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Human intellect has to undergo several phases in creation of complicated ideas from simple ideas.
For this the intellect needs to be active. Locke has mentioned six phases in the process of formation of
complicated ideas rom the simple ideas – - Perception 2. Retention 3. Discernment 4. Comparision
- Composition 6. Abstraction and Naming
Nature of Knowledge – Knowledge is nothing more than coincidence of our ideas and perception of
consent and dissent and incoherence between them.
According to Locke, the consent and dissent of ideas occur in four ways – - Identity or Difference – When two ideas are mutually different, such as red is red then it is an identity
relation . On the contrary red is not black, is based on the difference. - The abstract relation of ideas which are mainly mathematical, such as 2 + 2 = 4
- Co-existence – Being together or not being together of two ideas with an objective of any decision or
consultation, such as the apple is tasty and smooth and the table is brown and not smooth. - Real Existence – Such as , the existence of God.
Validity of Knowledge –
According to Locke, sensation and perception are two basic source of knowledge. With the
simple ideas obtained through them, our soul gets active and creates complicated ideas. Now question
arises as to on what basis these ideas should be termed real or unreal. According to Locke, the real
ideas are those which have their basic form in the external world. On the contrary, the ideas which have
no images in consistence of them in the external world are imaginary. It is called the Correspondence
Theory of Truth
Locke – Epistemology- 10
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