ABSTRACT

John Locke is the greatest English philosopher. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, one of the most influential books in the history of thought, is his greatest work. In this study the historical meaning and philosophical significance of Locke's Essay are investigated more comprehensively than ever before.
Locke was originally published in two volumes, Epistemology and Ontology. This paperback edition has within its covers the full text of both volumes.

chapter |10 pages

Introduction

part |2 pages

Part I: Ideas

chapter 1|6 pages

Introduction to Part I

chapter 3|10 pages

Ideas and epistemology before Locke

chapter 4|8 pages

Simple and complex ideas

chapter 5|8 pages

Ideas as images

chapter 7|7 pages

Ideas as natural signs

chapter 8|3 pages

Ideas: a summary

chapter 9|9 pages

Reflections on the structure of thought

part |2 pages

Part II: Knowledge and belief

chapter 10|7 pages

Introduction to Part II

chapter 12|8 pages

Other divisions of knowledge

chapter 13|9 pages

Probability and the nature of 'assent'

chapter 14|12 pages

The grounds of probability

chapter 15|20 pages

Reflections on the definition of knowledge

chapter 16|6 pages

Belief and rationality

part |2 pages

Part III: Perceptual knowledge

chapter 17|2 pages

Introduction to Part III

chapter 21|13 pages

The scope of perceptual knowledge

chapter 22|14 pages

Two modern approaches to sensation

chapter 23|12 pages

Private language and secondary qualities

part |2 pages

Part IV: Particulars, universalsand intuitive knowledge

chapter 24|2 pages

Introduction to Part IV

chapter 26|5 pages

Thought about particulars

chapter 28|5 pages

Abstraction and the ideal of precision

chapter 29|5 pages

Intuition and innate knowledge

chapter 31|12 pages

Reflections on understanding and imagination

chapter 32|12 pages

Necessity, reason and language

chapter 33|4 pages

Conclusions of Volume I

chapter |27 pages

Notes

chapter |4 pages

Bibliography

chapter |7 pages

Index

chapter |2 pages

Volume II Ontology

chapter |12 pages

Introduction

part |2 pages

Part II: God, Nature and theLaw of Nature

chapter 10|4 pages

Introduction to Part II

chapter 11|7 pages

Forms of mechanism before Locke

chapter 12|12 pages

The form of Locke's mechanism

chapter 14|15 pages

The existence of God

chapter 15|12 pages

The Law of Nature and human freedom

chapter 16|7 pages

Reflections on Locke's ethics

part |2 pages

Part III: dentity

chapter 17|2 pages

Introduction to Part III

chapter 18|9 pages

Locke on 'masses of matter'

chapter 19|13 pages

Locke on living things

chapter 20|10 pages

Forms of material unity

chapter 21|15 pages

Artificial and other problematic objects

chapter 22|6 pages

Personal identity before the Essay

chapter 23|9 pages

Locke's theory of personal identity

chapter 24|9 pages

Contemporary reactions to Locke's theory

chapter 26|4 pages

Conclusions of Volume II