Sarah Bruegmann
Descartes and Locke disagree on some of the fundamental characteristics of knowledge in their research of epistemology, including the subject of innate ideas and their existence—or lack thereof. Descartes’ principal argument with regard to innate ideas is that they do exist, while Locke argues that we simply have the ability to acquire knowledge, but our minds are a blank slate at birth.
Descartes argues that the ideas of God, perfection, and his perfection of existence must be innate, because they lack the characteristics of an adventitious or factitious ideas, and so must have gained this knowledge through God himself. He knows his idea of God is not adventitious, because he has had no sensory experience with him; he also …show more content…
In my own opinion, it is neither nature nor nurture that fully creates a person. When a person is born, they are born with genes inside them which control some ideas, but they are also influenced by their parents, friends, and environment.
Locke was raised as a Puritan, whose beliefs included God’s unique covenant with them. This agreement describes God’s expectation for Puritans to live according to scriptures, and if they do so, God chooses those who are worthy of salvation. The Puritan church focused directly on learning scripture, and allowed the common folk to lead the church as opposed to a pope or priest. Each member was therefore able to have their own interpretation of the scripture, which led to individualism allowing members to take their fate into their own hands and work toward salvation.
This relates to Locke’s perspective because he was raised to believe that life is in his own hands and that God did not provide humans with greater chances of being saved. Puritans did not believe in a social hierarchy, which further relates to Locke’s philosophy due to the level playing field at birth. It is possible that his philosophy was influenced by his religious beliefs through the ability to control one’s
Descartes and Locke disagree on some of the fundamental characteristics of knowledge in their research of epistemology, including the subject of innate ideas and their existence—or lack thereof. Descartes’ principal argument with regard to innate ideas is that they do exist, while Locke argues that we simply have the ability to acquire knowledge, but our minds are a blank slate at birth.
Descartes argues that the ideas of God, perfection, and his perfection of existence must be innate, because they lack the characteristics of an adventitious or factitious ideas, and so must have gained this knowledge through God himself. He knows his idea of God is not adventitious, because he has had no sensory experience with him; he also …show more content…
In my own opinion, it is neither nature nor nurture that fully creates a person. When a person is born, they are born with genes inside them which control some ideas, but they are also influenced by their parents, friends, and environment.
Locke was raised as a Puritan, whose beliefs included God’s unique covenant with them. This agreement describes God’s expectation for Puritans to live according to scriptures, and if they do so, God chooses those who are worthy of salvation. The Puritan church focused directly on learning scripture, and allowed the common folk to lead the church as opposed to a pope or priest. Each member was therefore able to have their own interpretation of the scripture, which led to individualism allowing members to take their fate into their own hands and work toward salvation.
This relates to Locke’s perspective because he was raised to believe that life is in his own hands and that God did not provide humans with greater chances of being saved. Puritans did not believe in a social hierarchy, which further relates to Locke’s philosophy due to the level playing field at birth. It is possible that his philosophy was influenced by his religious beliefs through the ability to control one’s