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Origin of Ideas

A conception in the mind that exists as a result of awareness, mental understanding or activity is known as an idea. According to John Locke, ideas evolve from the external objects perceived and the observations made. When senses are applied to particular objects and conveyed into the brains, many perceptions of things come out according to the way they are affected by the objects. That is how the ideas are generated. For instance, hard, bitter, yellow, or white are referred as sensible qualities. Secondly, the perception of our mind providing ideas to the understanding results from the fountain of our experiences. Locke uses theories and investigates on the primary and secondary qualities to address the concept of the idea.

 

The Corpuscular Hypothesis is Robert Boyle’s theory of ideas. According to the philosophy, matter comprises of tiny corpuscles and tends to be small, colorless, and odorless. Arranging these particles helps to give a perceived object its primary and secondary qualities. Following the ideas generated from the theory, primary qualities comprise of an object’s size, movement, and shape. They tend to be primary because the attributes exist independent of an individual’s perception. Secondary qualities are taste, color, and odor. They tend to exist regardless of anyone’s perception.

 

Ideas are generated from the sensation. Before senses are conveyed in the mind, there are no any ideas that are found. Thoughts arise the same time as sensation. The sensation is the impression motion made in some parts of the body that produce understanding perception; it is these operations impressions made by external objects that cause the mind engage in its operations. The things that affect our senses are blended and intimately united. It is obvious that the ideas produced enter the mind unmixed or simple, from one object, a unique sense takes off different ideas. They are perfect as that comes from different senses. Hardness and cold felt by a man in a small piece as of ice resemble distinct ideas in the mind.

 

There exist two kinds of ideas as stated by John Locke. The two categories are simple and complex ideas. Simple ideas are materials of our knowledge. They are suggested and supplied to the mind by only reflection and sensation. While human understanding has been filled with these ideas, it is easier to compare, repeat and unite them to infinite variety.

 

Simple ideas fall into various categories. The first category relates to ideas obtained from simply one sense. This category means that the admission of ideas in the mind occurs from the senses that are specially designed to collect them. An example of the issue in context is the receiving of sounds and noises only occurs through the ears. The eyes are the only senses designated to receive colors and light. Thus, no other sensory tools prove effective for such purposes. The second category relates ideas generated from additional senses. By that, it means that the ideas come from more than a single sense. One can accept and convey the ideas of shape, rest, motion, and extension into his or her mind through using senses of sight and touch. Another category worth noting is the ideas generated through reflection. This category relates to the utilization of the power of understanding and thinking. In this case, an individual’s mind looks into the received idea and thinks further by creating other ideas from it. The final category relates to ideas created from both reflection and sensation. Existence, pleasure, unity, and pain are examples of the ideas generated from both sensation and reflection.

 

Complex ideas are of three types. The first category is the mode. It can be defined as an idea that is dependent on other substances. By that, it means that the ideas cannot exist independently and would rely on other factors. Another type of complex ideas is substance. They are an amalgamation of simple ideas that act as a representation of the particular distinct issues. The last type of complex idea is the relation. This category identifies with the comparison of a single idea with another one.

 

Locke’s taxonomy of ideas indicates that an idea is distinct, real, adequate, or accurate. A definite idea is one that makes a person perceive it to be one that is different from others. For instance, an idea of an animal with black stripes distinct itself as a zebra. A real idea is contrary to a fantastic one because it has something that it signifies. For example, an idea of a rational creature having human body shape illustrates a real idea. Adequate ideas take the form of perfectly and fully representing its object. It is worth noting that all simple ideas are adequate. They are a representation of the power that produces them in the minds of human beings. Complex ideas take the form of been unreliable. They contain double intended references, which gives them that inadequate characteristic. An idea can also be true or false. This classification occurs based on the role it plays in proposition assertion. In this case, the relationship between words and ideas matter when representing the assertion a true or false. The truth of an individual’s idea depends on the perception of other parties concerning the same idea. For instance, the idea of something taking the form of color red comes from the common and general perception of other individuals. By that, it means that it cannot be misconceived as green due to the general knowledge about colors.

 

Locke’s reasoning that all of human being’s ideas can be accounted for in the mentioned categories is correct and sound. This argument is true because his categories relate to every kind of impression created when observing, feeling, and reflecting upon a particular object. For instance, the intriguing ideas generated from seeing a particular object relates to the category of reflection. This notion comes from one’s use of the power thinking and understanding.

A conception in the mind that exists as a result of awareness, mental understanding or activity is known as an idea. According to John Locke, ideas evolve from the external objects perceived and the observations made. When senses are applied to particular objects and conveyed into the brains, many perceptions of things come out according to the way they are affected by the objects. That is how the ideas are generated. For instance, hard, bitter, yellow, or white are referred as sensible qualities. Secondly, the perception of our mind providing ideas to the understanding results from the fountain of our experiences. Locke uses theories and investigates on the primary and secondary qualities to address the concept of the idea.

The Corpuscular Hypothesis is Robert Boyle’s theory of ideas. According to the philosophy, matter comprises of tiny corpuscles and tends to be small, colorless, and odorless. Arranging these particles helps to give a perceived object its primary and secondary qualities. Following the ideas generated from the theory, primary qualities comprise of an object’s size, movement, and shape. They tend to be primary because the attributes exist independent of an individual’s perception. Secondary qualities are taste, color, and odor. They tend to exist regardless of anyone’s perception.

Ideas are generated from the sensation. Before senses are conveyed in the mind, there are no any ideas that are found. Thoughts arise the same time as sensation. The sensation is the impression motion made in some parts of the body that produce understanding perception; it is these operations impressions made by external objects that cause the mind engage in its operations. The things that affect our senses are blended and intimately united. It is obvious that the ideas produced enter the mind unmixed or simple, from one object, a unique sense takes off different ideas. They are perfect as that comes from different senses. Hardness and cold felt by a man in a small piece as of ice resemble distinct ideas in the mind.

There exist two kinds of ideas as stated by John Locke. The two categories are simple and complex ideas. Simple ideas are materials of our knowledge. They are suggested and supplied to the mind by only reflection and sensation. While human understanding has been filled with these ideas, it is easier to compare, repeat and unite them to infinite variety.

Simple ideas fall into various categories. The first category relates to ideas obtained from simply one sense. This category means that the admission of ideas in the mind occurs from the senses that are specially designed to collect them. An example of the issue in context is the receiving of sounds and noises only occurs through the ears. The eyes are the only senses designated to receive colors and light. Thus, no other sensory tools prove effective for such purposes. The second category relates ideas generated from additional senses. By that, it means that the ideas come from more than a single sense. One can accept and convey the ideas of shape, rest, motion, and extension into his or her mind through using senses of sight and touch. Another category worth noting is the ideas generated through reflection. This category relates to the utilization of the power of understanding and thinking. In this case, an individual’s mind looks into the received idea and thinks further by creating other ideas from it. The final category relates to ideas created from both reflection and sensation. Existence, pleasure, unity, and pain are examples of the ideas generated from both sensation and reflection.

Complex ideas are of three types. The first category is the mode. It can be defined as an idea that is dependent on other substances. By that, it means that the ideas cannot exist independently and would rely on other factors. Another type of complex ideas is substance. They are an amalgamation of simple ideas that act as a representation of the particular distinct issues. The last type of complex idea is the relation. This category identifies with the comparison of a single idea with another one.

Locke’s taxonomy of ideas indicates that an idea is distinct, real, adequate, or accurate. A definite idea is one that makes a person perceive it to be one that is different from others. For instance, an idea of an animal with black stripes distinct itself as a zebra. A real idea is contrary to a fantastic one because it has something that it signifies. For example, an idea of a rational creature having human body shape illustrates a real idea. Adequate ideas take the form of perfectly and fully representing its object. It is worth noting that all simple ideas are adequate. They are a representation of the power that produces them in the minds of human beings. Complex ideas take the form of been unreliable. They contain double intended references, which gives them that inadequate characteristic. An idea can also be true or false. This classification occurs based on the role it plays in proposition assertion. In this case, the relationship between words and ideas matter when representing the assertion a true or false. The truth of an individual’s idea depends on the perception of other parties concerning the same idea. For instance, the idea of something taking the form of color red comes from the common and general perception of other individuals. By that, it means that it cannot be misconceived as green due to the general knowledge about colors.

Locke’s reasoning that all of human being’s ideas can be accounted for in the mentioned categories is correct and sound. This argument is true because his categories relate to every kind of impression created when observing, feeling, and reflecting upon a particular object. For instance, the intriguing ideas generated from seeing a particular object relates to the category of reflection. This notion comes from one’s use of the power thinking and understanding.