Page 155 - Wholeness
P. 155
Locke realized that to make progress it was first necessary to
examine human understanding more fundamentally. Before we
start analyzing the world and the way we approach it, it is
necessary to learn something about ourselves and how we
acquire knowledge.
Locke wrote an Essay that was divided into four books. In Book
One, Locke argues that our knowledge cannot have been innate.
This sets up Book Two, in which Locke claims that all our ideas
come from experience. Book Three is a digression as Locke
turns his attention to language and the role it plays in our
theorizing.
Locke’s main goal is cautionary, he thinks language is often an
obstacle to understanding and offers some recommendations to
avoid confusion.
Finally, Book Four discusses knowledge, belief and opinion.
Locke argues that knowledge consists of special kind of
relations between ideas and that we should regulate our beliefs
accordingly. Locke greatly contributed for perfection of people
and considered experience, knowledge, ideas and opinions as
basic preconditions for upgrading social relationships.
True development of the society is possible only through
upgrading people’s knowledge and understanding. Society can
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