Compare and Contrast Locke and Descartes

Descartes sought through his inquiry to find out what could be known; believing that other truths could then be deduced from those known from certainty. John Locke also, seeks to determine the limits of human understanding; what we can know and why, and what role do the senses and reason play. Locke believes that the senses and reflection provide the proofs on which reason works, he believes faith operates beyond reason. Now that we have gained, a general over view of the, “theory of knowledge”, lets move on further to Descartes and Locke’s individual “theory of knowledge”.

Descartes a rationalist his “theory of knowledge”, begins with systematic doubt, Descartes’ inquiry proposes to tear down all that he knows to rebuild it with truths. He

Descartes believes that substance, is the minds eye seeing - the ability to occupy space. Descartes holds that reason is more important than the senses, that reason provides more knowledge than the senses. Reason tells us the essence of a thing, the senses cannot. The meditations of Descartes are also focused on the existence of God and innate ideas. Descartes uses the existence of God to prove what his senses perceive. He believed that it is better to have proof of something, you cannot see, than no proof of something we can see. The existence of God for Descartes proves that what he sees does exist it is an extension. Therefore, every idea he has, has been caused by something that is as perfect as what it is that the idea represents. Therefore, the perfect thing must have caused his idea of perfection. This leads to the ability for us to see things clearly and distinctly.

Descartes maintains that if God is a perfect being and would not deceive us, then corporeal things exist. Descartes comes to believe that these clear and distinct things our perceptions are innate. He believes that clear and distinct ideas produced in the mind do not include the ideas of imagination or sensation. Locke’s view on the other hand does give some validity to the use of sense perception. Locke’s theory of knowledge differs from Descartes; Locke rejects the idea of innate ideas.

Some topics in this essay:
Hence Locke's, John Locke, Descartes Locke’s, Locke Descartes, God Descartes, Human Understanding”, Descartes Locke, British Empiricist, Descartes Descartes, innate ideas, ideas locke, locke believes, theory knowledge, descartes believes, mind locke, “theory knowledge”, locke’s theory knowledge, sensation reflection, comes experience, knowledge understanding, knowledge comes experience, , “plain historical method”, “theory knowledge” descartes, historical method” account,