An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

Authors: John Locke

Key Ideas

1. Empiricism: Locke argues that all knowledge comes from experience and observation.

2. Tabula Rasa: Locke introduces the concept of the mind as a blank slate, upon which experience and sensory perception imprint.

3. Primary and Secondary Qualities: Locke distinguishes between primary qualities (those that exist objectively, such as shape and size) and secondary qualities (those that depend on a perceiver, such as color and taste).

4. Innate Ideas: Locke rejects the notion that humans are born with innate ideas, arguing instead that ideas originate from sensory experience.

5. Association ....
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Quiz

1. According to Locke, where does all knowledge come from?

Reasoning and deduction

Divine revelation

Experience and observation

Innate ideas

2. What does Locke mean by the concept of 'tabula rasa'?

The idea that humans have innate knowledge

The theory of universal truths

The mind as a blank slate

The belief in predestination

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