Thursday, March 6, 2008
locke xxvi human views of existence
locke here explains the reason to believe anythig exists is because everything has a cause and an effect. so any idea that enters our mind is study by us and therefore the idea exists. he goes on the explain that everthing that exists has a relation to something else. humans know "old" in relation to something of similar attirbutes being "young". they know "big" in relation to something that is "small" that is known to be the same thing in question, like a small dog compared to a big dog. and humans understand space and time because in relation to events happening in other space and at other times. when dealing with absolute terms, that which is being described can be compared to anything. it is sensation and reflection that compares all ideas. he says that time and space are described by other time and space, but does not talk about the first time or the creation of space. i think he is just trying to prove what exists because for there to be an effect there must be a cause, and that cause must exist.
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4 comments:
Steve- would you say that this reasoning- that for every effect there must be an existing cause- is a good way to prove the existence of God as first cause? Or would God also need a cause?
Locke does not go into this, or at least I did not see that he did. I believe, like Aristotle and the Islamic philosphers like Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, in a unmoved mover, and an uncreated creator. I think Lock is just explaining how humans can declare that something exists. Like the cogito, but a little further, with everything.
If you look in book I Locke does talk about deriving a concept of God by tracing causes back to their original, you should look into it. But do you think that this kind of cosmological argument (first cause) is a legitimate proof of God?
Locke says God is all things. And therefore, his existence is irrefutable.
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