Author Question: How did John Locke's views differ from those of Descartes? How did that determine Locke's views ... (Read 97 times)

Sufayan.ah · **on:** Jul 14, 2018

How did John Locke's views differ from those of Descartes?

How did that determine Locke's views of the self?

Question 2

What was Descartes' conclusion about the nature of the self,

and how did he arrive at that conclusion?

tdewitt · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 14, 2018

Answer to Question 1

- Locke's revolutionary theory was that the mind is a tabula rasa (blank slate) which is written on by experience.
- Like Descarte, Locke believed in developing knowledge based on clear thinking, rigorous analysis, and real-world observation and experimentation.
- For Descartes, reasoning provides the origin of knowledge. For Locke, all knowledge originates in our direct sense experience.

Answer to Question 2

- Descartes declared that the essential self (the thinking entity) is radically different from the physical body.
- Like Plato, Descartes believed in a dualistic view of reality divided into a spiritual, non-material realm and physical, material realm.
- By advocating a dualistic metaphysic, Descartes was able to maintain both his scientific integrity and his religious convictions.
- Descartes believed that the thinking self and the physical self were connected via the pineal gland.