JOHN LOCKE’S THEORY OF PERCEPTION

JOHN LOCKE’S THEORY OF PERCEPTION

ABSTRACT

According to Locke, knowledge is restricted to ideas, not platonic ideas or forms, but ideas that are generated by objects we experience thus debunking the claim of the rationalists that reason is the primary source of knowledge (Copleston, 1964: 72). Locke decided that before one could move directly into such a subject as the principles of morality and revealed religion, it was necessary we examined our own abilities, and see what our understandings were, or were not fitted to deal with. The study revealed that the work of Locke is so confusing, that he was criticized by Berkley, an empiricist like himself. To Berkley according to the findings of this study, the causal and representative theory as presented by Locke should be refuted. Also, he advocated that the thesis of general substance, and the substratum, which Locke spoke about, should be jettisoned, because it is an inconsistent hypothesis. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the empiricism of Locke is too complex, it in fact goes beyond the limit of experience of self, God and the external world on demonstration and intuition which appear contradictory to the doctrine of empiricism, of which he is a major proponent. In other words, one can safely say, John Locke is not a consistent philosopher, because at some point, you will find him being mechanical, and at other point, you will find him being metaphysical. Conclusively, the work of John Locke cannot be undermined due to the fact the he had done one of the greatest and influential works, in the study of epistemology. This study revealed that John Locke’s  work had gone a long way in increasing the frontiers of knowledge; hence, his work cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand or underestimated for Locke is a moderate empiricist whose empiricism allows us to possess a real but limited knowledge and understanding of the real world.

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