Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Locke and Innate Ideas
Locke took a drastically different approach to the concept of innate ideas compared to his contemporaries. He argued that innate ideas could not exist, no matter how elemtary the idea may be. He said that many people were confusing universal concepts with innate concepts. He argued that, just because a triangle has three sides, doesn't mean that we are born knowing that, or with the ability to distinguish it. This was a very important theory, because it essentially pushed God to the sidelines, and instead thrust man into the role of creator of many ideas which, at the time, were thought to have been implanted in the minds of man prior to birth.
Locke Properties - Dye
So I think I understand the distinction that Locke is describing of primary and secondary properties that an object has. That these secondary properties are the things that the mind makes of the physical objects is fine, but I'm confused about how Locke would deal with something like orange dye. Down to its smallest piece, this dye retains the secondary property of orange, and is not dependent on the mind to see the color. Or does he still contend that because the mind sees the color and it can be different for everyone that it would still be a secondary property? But just because it is different to someone else, doesnt mean it can't be a property of the object, just that someone is incorrect in their perception...
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