Examples Of John Locke's Representationalism

A. John Locke present "limited representationalism" as this definition believes that our sense data are, in fact, a detailed image or embodiment of the material substance that causes them. “In other words, Locke claims that our minds contain nothing which did not come through our senses” (White, 266). To further elaborate upon this Locke believe some properties of our sensory experience or senses, actually resemble the properties that cause them and others do not. Two properties that fall under this category is primary & secondary properties. Primary Properties are those that our similar to the properties of the experiences that they cause or origin of it. Secondary Properties are those that hold no similarities to the properties of the experiences

A prime example is his illuminating distinction when it comes to the “primary” and “secondary” qualities of physical objects. Primary traits include size, shape, weight, solidity, and other traits. Secondary qualities are established as color, taste, and smell as some examples. Ideas of primary qualities are similar to the qualities they appear in the object. An example of this is one’s idea of the roundness of a snowball that resembles the roundness of the snowball itself, which leaves me amazed. However, ideas of secondary qualities do not portray an object correctly; they are instead a product or end result of that object influence by its properties, this can cause certain kinds of ideas in the mind of the “onlooker”. Perceiver, see the whiteness of the snowball but it is merely an idea implanted or produced in the mind by the interaction between light, the primary qualities of the snowball, and the perceiver’s sense organs. Furthermore, the primary and secondary qualities are relevant to limited representationalism; because primary qualities illustrated that there is a high probability that matter does exist, while the secondary category is

John Locke appears to define knowledge, but it rules out the possibility of knowledge of the external world. Locke definition of knowledge is the perception of agreement between ideas and thus it restricts knowledge to our own thoughts and ideas. Locke emphasizes that knowledge of the external world is not based on inference or reasoning. It is also not based on reflecting on ideas somehow already in the mind., This is accomplish through sensory experience. Additionally, knowledge of the external world, as Locke describes it, is clearly not an “element” of merely knowing facts about our own perception or minds.

Third, many of the special problems of knowing how knowledge of the external world may stem from what appears to be overwhelming skeptical arguments against the probability of such great knowledge. John Locke approach to skepticism, however, has seemed “off course” and maybe in tension or having a crisis with itself. Locke alternately suggest that skepticism cannot be counter even if we have strong evidence to say otherwise to believe it was a mistake or misguided theory, that genuine skepticism is not a cognitive possibility for individuals, and that skepticism is