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Locke and Berkeley

            
             Throughout history philosophers have influenced each other immensely. Sometimes present philosophers will agree with past philosophies and build on them. However, it is also common for present philosophers to criticize past philosophies. Two strongly differing arguments is John Locke and George Berkeley's views of existence.
             John Locke believed strongly in the idea that secondary qualities exist only in the mind, leaving the primary qualities in the things themselves. Primary qualities exist in the object and are not dependent on the mind. Secondary qualities are inside the mind but exist independently. Certain qualities of a object has the power to create an experience in the mind. These messages of experience are written on the "blank tablet", or mind. Locke believes that this is where knowledge comes from.
             George Berkeley has very different ideas of reality and existence. He varies from Locke by saying that even primary qualities exist only in the mind. Berkeley asked the question, "How do you know qualities exist?" He argued that one has no right to say primary qualities are more independent than secondary qualities of the mind. He believed this because he thought that all you experience or know are the ideas in your mind. These ideas or objects continue to exist through a mind that exists all the time- God. .
             Criticism for these two philosophers or philosophies is abundant. Just a few of both Berkeley and Locke include that Berkeley's idea that all objects and ideas will always exist in God. This leads one to ask the question, "If God held these in existence when we are not looking, are they two separate existence's?" Clearly, one would look logically at the situation and say that there is only one existence of an object or idea. Berkeley fails to explain how there could be two separate existence's of one thing. Similarly, it can be argued that Locke is mislead in his thinking by the fact that his ideas of primary and secondary qualities is questionable.


Essays Related to Locke and Berkeley

1. Locke and Berkeley

On what grounds does Berkeley object to this distinction? ... Bishop George Berkeley is one of the main opponents to Locke's theory and argues, on various grounds, that a distinction between primary and secondary qualities can not reasonably be made. ... Berkeley develops this idea to instigate an attack on Locke's distinction between primary and secondary qualities. ... However, Berkeley has another line of attack on Locke's primary/secondary quality distinction. ... Berkeley sees that Locke is presenting his distinction as one of objectivity versus subjectivity with subjec...

  • Word Count: 2597
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Philosophy

Well know theorists; John Locke, George Berkeley and Karl Pearson all believed in their own, widely diverse or not, theories. ... George Berkeley believed this was very wrong, and was on of Locke's biggest critics, his theory, Idealism; the belief of "to be is to be perceived" (Berkeley, 1992, p. 77) being vastly different from Locke's. ... Thus Representational Realism and Idealism are vastly different theories; on one hand there is Locke, who believes in a physical world, which though it may be perceived differently to how it is, it still exists (Locke, 1973, p. 577); and Berkeley,...

  • Word Count: 1816
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Compare empiricism and rationalism

The main figure who believed that material substance did not exist is George Berkeley. ... Berkeley moves on to show that the perceived qualities of an object are ideas which exist only in a mind. ... Keep in mind that Berkeley is not denying the existence of anything else besides him. ... Since this view seriously conflicted with Berkeley's critique of abstract ideas. Berkeley has unique treatments of geometry and arithmetic and his famous critique of the calc...

  • Word Count: 2949
  • Approx Pages: 12
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. berkeley

John Locke and David Hume upheld the belief that sensible things were composed of material substance, the basic framework for the materialist position. The main figure who believed that material substance did not exist is George Berkeley. ... The initial groundwork for Berkeley's position is the truism that the materialist is a skeptic. In the writing of his three dialogues, Berkeley develops two characters: Hylas (the materialist) and Philonous (Berkeley himself). ... Berkeley assumes the view that ideas are passive and only perceivable in a mind. ...

  • Word Count: 2455
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Descartes

The problem of perception continues with George Berkeley when Locke failed to prove that which we can only know what comes to us in our perceptions. ... Hume's theory combined the ideas of Locke and Berkeley. ... The problem continues with John Locke. ... George Berkeley continues with the idea of substance existing only in their being perceived. ... What follows from Berkeley's argument is that the physical world exists only in our perceptions. ...

  • Word Count: 701
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Relative Realism

This view of Locke's is called representative realism. ... Locke lists size or extension, shape, motion or rest, solidity or impenetrability, and number as primary qualities of an object. ... But Locke maintains that perception gives us some knowledge of intrinsic properties of a physical object, namely, its primary qualities. ... Bishop Berkeley objected to Locke's representative realism on two counts. ... An even greater problem, Berkeley said, is that, if all we are ever aware of is the sense data of our sensations, if all we ever know is the effects of an external object on our m...

  • Word Count: 929
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Berkley's Theory of Immaterialism

John Locke and David Hume upheld the belief that sensible things were composed of material substance, the basic framework for the materialist position. The main figure who believed that material substance did not exist is George Berkeley. ... In the writing of his three dialogues, Berkeley develops two characters: Hylas (the materialist) and Philonous (Berkeley himself). ... It is here that Berkeley directs an alternate hypothesis: that the abstract primary qualities don't exist at all. ... Berkeley assumes the view that ideas are passive and only perceivable in a mind. ...

  • Word Count: 2511
  • Approx Pages: 10

8. Epistemology - Philosophical Study of Knowledge

The leading empiricist is John Locke and he rejects the concept of innate ideas.There are also other empiricists that support Lockes concept such as George Berkeley and David Hume. ... Furthermore, Locke denies the concept of the Cogito argument. ... Locke continues to talk about the experience we receive from the world and that they may differ. ... Berkeley accepts subjective idealism, all that exist are minds and their ideas (Berkeley p.218). ... Rene Descartes was a rationalist whereas John Locke who was an empiricist. ...

  • Word Count: 1055
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Power

Locke described the color, sound, taste, odor, and so on of an object to not belong to that object in the outside world. ... Later after Locke had had problems getting around the notion of "material substances", Berkeley stated that all qualities, both primary and secondary, are in the mind therefore matter doesn't exist. ... Objectivists reject Berkeley's view. ...

  • Word Count: 1180
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

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