Locked and Loaded: Taking Aim at the Rationalists

John Locke, considered by many as the father of British empiricism, was one of the most influential philosophers of the Enlightenment. Contrary to the ongoing rationalist flow of ideas, Locke came up with an empirical perspective of an idea itself. In his epistemological stance, Locke suggests that the rationalists start their quest for knowledge at the wrong end of the epistemological spectrum. His view of knowledge based on experiences is quite contrary to the rationalist viewpoint which suggests that knowledge can only be attained through pure reason. Locke’s arguments against rationalism and his epistemological system are both compelling and practical in contrast to some of his rationalist counterparts (e.g. Spinoza, Leibniz) who tend to be overtly on some issues.
A significant amount of rationalist philosophy of the Enlightenment was influenced by Descartes and his philosophy, especially his epistemological outtake. Although other Enlightenment era rationalists have critically analyzed Descartes work and formulated their own opinions, the basic axioms of Descartes’ rationalism did not go through major alterations. Similar to the Christian theology, Descartes embarked on the concept of “Innate Ideas”. Innate ideas are ideas that we are born with. According to Scruton, Descartes had argued that “the principles of rational argument, and ideas like those of God, thought and extension which we perceive clearly and distinctly and which provide the rational foundations of our knowledge, are innate, implanted in us by God without the help of any sensory experience” (87). Contrary to Descartes, Locke compares the infant brain to a Tabula Rasa (blank slate). He argues that one has no awareness of ideas or rational principles (like formal logic, as was argued by Descartes) until real world experiences imprint the ideas on the blank state. He further goes on to say that Descartes confuses potential with inborn ideas. Locke accepts that one is born with a certain potential or ability, but it is only through real life experiences one is able to achieve that potential. As Locke points out – “it is trivial to assert the existence of innate ideas if we mean only that the child is born with the power to acquire those ideas which are later displayed in him” (Scruton, 87). Thus, Locke claims that hailing the concept of “Innate Ideas” as the basis for epistemology is fundamentally flawed and there needs to be another approach to begin the study of knowledge.
At this point Locke comes up with his “Theory of Ideas” where he describes two forms of experience through which ideas are acquired – Sensation and Reflection (Scruton, 89). Locke further describes Sensation as being a ‘simple (or primary) idea’ which is based upon our perception of the world through our five senses. For example, when we see an apple, what we perceive is an imperfect spherical shape which is red in color (provided the incident light is white). The imperfect spherical shape and the red color are examples of simple ideas which we acquire through our senses. The Reflection part of the “Theory of Ideas” deals with the cognitive recognition of the apple by our mind. The Reflection is through a series of ‘complex ideas’ (all ideas that are not simple) which enable us to put together the sensory responses and form a comprehensible image of the red apple in our mind. Locke further delves into the concept of ‘abstract ideas’ which aid our ability to form general notions (Scruton, 90). This was the rationalist’s start point and an empiricist’s final destination. As Scruton explains in his book, abstraction is a process where we form complex ideas by separating ideas in such a way as to generate what is common to all of them (91). For example, one might have many ideas of particular dogs. Some might be scrawny or big, white or black, cute or scary. However, the abstract idea is the idea of a dog that is formed by the removal of the superfluous details and can be considered as a general notion. Locke’s final step, the explanation of the general from the particular, seems much less idealistic than the rationalist’s explanation of the particular from the general.
Although Locke’s “theory of Ideas” and epistemology provide us with a more pragmatic perspective, it has its flaws too. We know that sense perceptions can be deceiving. Provided negligible surface reflection, a red apple will appear black under blue light. Thus, we see that just relying on sense perceptions do not necessarily provide us with an assessment of the true nature of things. The flaw of our bodily senses was the prime flaw rationalists saw in empiricism. Relying on our senses do not necessitate the truth, at the same time, not relying on them and basing our beliefs in reason alone leave us with bizarre implications. Towards the end of enlightenment, this dilemma was resolved by Emmanuel Kant who combined the two contrasting viewpoints and came up with a much developed system of epistemology.



Work Cited
Scruton, Roger. A Short History of Modern Philosophy. New York: Routledge, 2002.