1. EMPIRICISM:

2. JOHN LOCKE  RECOGNIZED AS THE “FOUNDING FATHER” OF WHAT WE NOW UNDERSTAND IS THE “SCHOOL OF EMPIRICAL PRACTICES.”  ADVOCATED THE CONCEPT OF TABULA RASA: NO KNOWLEDGE COMES FROM PRE-BIRTH. WE ARE BORN WITH MINDS THAT ARE “BLANK SLATES.”

3. ESSENTIAL IDEAS:  OUR IDEAS ARE ANYTHING THAT IS IMMEDIATELY PRESENT TO OUR CONSCIOUS AWARENESS.  CONSCIOUS AWARENESS IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF SENSORY IMAGES, THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, AND MEMORIES.  ONLY OUR SENSES CAN MAKE US AWARE OF ANYTHING.

4. ESSENTIAL IDEAS  WE LEARN BY INDUCTION, NOT DEDUCTION. THAT IS, WE REASON FROM PARTICULARS TO GENERALS.  SOMETIMES OUR GENERALIZATIONS ARE MISTAKEN; THEREFORE, WE MUST BE WILLING TO CHANGE OUR BELIEFS IN THINGS IN LIGHT OF CHANGING EVIDENCE.

5. KEY QUESTION FOR PHILOLOGY:  Can one person’s perception of an object be EXACTLY the same as another person’s? Why or why not? Please explain by using a concrete example and posing some questions.

6. ESSENTIAL IDEAS  POLITICALLY, THE GOVERNED SHOULD RETAIN INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND NOT BE THE SUBJECTS OF THE CONTROLLING FEW.  LIBERTY IS AN INDIVIDUAL NECESSITY.

7. KEY QUESTION  IF JOHN LOCKE COULD OBSERVE GLOBAL CULTURE TODAY, WHAT POLITICAL ISSUES MIGHT HE CHALLENGE. WHY?  ARRIVE IN CLASS, TOMORROW, WITH AN IDEA RELATED TO THIS ISSUE. BE PREPARED TO EXPLAIN WHY LOCKE WOULD CHALLENGE IT.