PHILOSOPHY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

PHILOSOPHY - Essay Example by ideas taken from particular beings, become general representatives of all of the same kind; and their names, general names, applicable to whatever exists conformable to such abstract ideas.† To make this simpler, according to Locke, for an average human, knowledge comes only from what he is able to perceive, and already has perceived. He is unable to imagine qualities, unless he has already not seen, or felt those qualities before. He gives the example of white, and how it would be impossible to perceive the white in chalk or snow if it had already not been seen in milk, and thus by association, the mind is able to conceive of qualities, even that which it has previously no knowledge of. Thus abstraction signifies distinguishing a particular characteristic of a substance in one’s mind from all its remaining characteristics and using it as a mean of comparison with all other materials. Up to that point Berkeley agrees,[Introduction, (9)] as he concedes that if one perceived a certain similarity between three men, the mind would emphasize (or abstract) that similarity, and diminish the differences. Yet he also criticizes using this theory on humanity in general, for it does not happen that we imagine a human of complete and utter indeterminacy; that is though we recognize the fact that he will have the required two arms, two legs, one head (even that he questions; as Berkeley states it is possible for him to imagine a man with two heads thus also canceling the very first idea of man being unable to perceive anything he already does not know) it is also necessary for the human mind to wonder about the color, the stature and the build of the man. In essence, it is impossible to imagine a man simply on a general abstract, it is necessary to wonder on the ‘particulars’. He further postulates that Man cannot distinguish himself from animals primarily because he considers himself born with the ability to create general abstract ideas; in fact, the only reason