An Essary Concerning Human Understanding

“Lockeing” in an idea

In the 17^th Century, many humans on this planet believed thoughts and ideas to be a God given gift, especially those ideas of the kings and monarchs. John Locke, an English philosopher challenged this belief in his “Essay on Human Understanding,” citing five major reasons and beliefs as to the commonality of ideas coming from a person and their own experiences in life. The five major points brought up include “idea is the object of thinking,” “all ideas come from sensation or reflection,” the objects of sensation one source of ideas,” the operations of our minds the other source of them,” and all our ideas are of the one or the other of these” (Locke, 1995, pg 185-187)

The main point of Locke’s essay is the idea that ideas stem from a person’s experiences in life. One way a person can have an experience is through sensations. Sensations are simply incidents that involve the five senses of touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight. “The great source of most of the ideas we have,” according the Locke, “and derived by them to the understanding,” is sensation (Locke, 186). The other method in which an idea is created, is entitled reflection. A reflection comes from a person thinking about their own experiences and operations they have had throughout their lives. Without these sources, ideas would never come to fruition, as an idea is not simply a thought placed into a person’s head.

Locke’s thoughts can easily be applied to any scholar who is considering working on the production of a publication or similar medium. The application can all start with the conception of the publication. A person is not going to be able to create the idea out of the blue; a person needs to have a desire to create something. Going with the desire, a person needs to have some form of experience with the subject, be it a sensation or a reflective notion to create the idea, and to continue with the information shared in the publication.

Works Cited

Locke, John. “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.” The Portable Enlightenment Reader. Ed. Issac Kramnick. New York: Penguin Books, 1995. 185-187