John Locke and modern empiricism Third Lecture

Biographical Note Biografi 1632: born on 29th August in Wrington/Somerset 1652: worked in Oxford 1662: lectured in philosophy in Oxford, polemics on tolerance 1667: moved to London and served Lord Earl of Shaftesbury 1668: Member of Royal Society with his contributions in economics and natural sciences 1675: lived in France. 1679: back to London 1683: imigrated to Netherland because of political conflict 1689: back to England, refused a governmental position 1689: published Epistola de tolerantia, and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. 1690: published Two tratises of Government 1704: dead in Oates/Essex on 28th October.

Critique on the Cartesian Doctrine of Innate Ideas Locke disagreed on cartesian doctrine that derives our knowledge from the a priori principle in human reason. According to him our reason must be considered as a blank white paper (tabula rasa) that is filled with sense-data or empirical experiences. The innate ideas that Descartes propagates have not their own content, because they originate from our perception and sensation.

How do we know a table as it is? The rationalist answered that the table is already in our head as an idea. Without the idea of table (extension) the external reality seems to us as a chaotic landscape. The idea structures it as a form of table. The empiricist found the other answer: We cannot have the idea of table in our head, if we don’t touch or experience the table outside our head. The objective world is real and not only our rational construction. It exists, therefore it has an ontological status.

The Process of Knowledge 1. The table is perceived by our senses; then the externality of this material thing is the object of our SENSATION, whereas the operation of our mind knowing it is called REFLECTION. 2. From sense-data we get in our mind simple ideas such as ‘brown’, ‘wood’, ‘big’ or ‘table’. 3. We observe also many kinds of table so that we get in our mind some simple ideas of table 4. From these simple ideas our mind connects them. This process is called “abstraction”. 5. The result of abstraction is complex ideas such as “substance”, “relation” or “mode”.

Primary and secondary Qualities of an Object Locke made an important distinction between primary and secondary qualities. Primary qualities are the objective side of an observed object like its wideness, movement or mass. They are inherent in the object. But secondary qualities are the subjective side of an observed object. They are the conditions of the observing subject itself like ‘sweetness’, ‘redness’, ‘warmness’ etc.

The Ontological Status of External World With his view on primary qualities Locke assumed that the world outside of us exist objectively and external to us. It is not mere our rational construction or our imagination. It is real and has an ontological status as material beings.

Empiricism and the Rise of modern Sciences Locke was a pioneer of modern empiricism, the view that teaches that our knowledge is gained through experience, especially sense experience. The modern sciences assume the existence of external world that is separated from our consciousness. In animism or fetishism man cannot differ external and internal world, so that the limits between fiction and reality are blurred.

The Concept of Experience Empiricism didn’t limit itself in sense experience. The concept of experience in empiricism didn’t exclude the spiritual experience (George Berkeley). So, we cannot only experience the heat of fire, but also the idea of ‘heat’. According to Berkeley being is being perceived (esse est percipii), so that our world is nothing but perceived idea. The religious experience like the experience of the “tremendum” and “fascinosum” (Rudolf Otto) is also experience that is included in the category of the empirical.

Esse est percipi George Berkeley (1685-1753) argued that we don’t perceive the object outside our mind, but the idea in our mind. Esse est percipi – this famous statement of Berkeley means that being (i.e. the external world) is but seeming. So, my world is my world.

Critique on Substance David Hume (1711-1776), the radical empiricist, viewed that ‘substance’ is but a bundle of perceptions. So, if I think that I’ am, this “I” is only a constant impression on certain traits that accompany our experience. If we sleep, for example, we lost our “selves”, because the perceptions are empty.

Critique on Causality David Hume criticized the very concept of causality. According to him if the billiard ball A moves toward the billiard ball B and strikes it, we say that the B moves because of A (propter hoc). But in the reality that doesn’t happen. What happen is that the B moves after the A (post hoc). The causality is but the constant and stable impression on the chronological relation between A dan B.

The Influence of Empiricism The empiricism is the epistemological foundation of modern sciences and influences the objectivist researches in many aspects of modern society (inductive logic) In the modern materialism and positivism the principles of empiricism are very central, i.e. sense-data as the source of our knowledge.