Lecture 26 Notes

Background

1. John Locke (1632-1704)
1. Major thinker in metaphysics, epistemology, and political philosophy.
2. Our Lockean Roots--One can see Locke's influence in the US Constitution.
2. Rejecting Descartes' Rationalism for an Empiricist Picture
1. All knowledge is based upon observation.
2. Non-deductive reasoning is favored instead of proofs.
   

Locke's Arguments Against Solipsism

1. Instead of offering a proof for the existence of an external, mind-independent, material world, Locke argues for the existence of such a world via inferences to the best explanation.
2. Puzzles for the Solipsist:
1. Why can't we have visual experience in the dark?
2. Why can't we control sensory experience?
3. Why is there always coherence and consistency in experience?
3. Answer: Best Explanation For the Above is the Reality of External, Mind-Independent, Material World

Locke's Account of Perception

1. Limited (Sophisticated) Representationalism
1. Primary Qualities (e.g., motion, number, shape, size)--These are features of things that cause similar sensations in our minds--we can experience them as they really are.
   
2. Secondary Qualities (e.g., color, taste, smell, hot & cold)--These are the power of things to cause dissimilar sensations (ideas) in our minds.  In other words, these are qualities of our inner representations but not of the objects that are represented; the objects that are represented just have the power to cause these sensations.
2. Limited Representationalism is in contrast with Naive Representationalism (the view that our inner representations fully resemble that which they represent).