ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that Locke’s early medical training was fundamental to his intellectual development. Rather than adopting Galenic medicine or Boyle’s mechanism, Locke’s earliest views were informed by the work of contemporary chymists, notably J. B. van Helmont. His later views were deeply indebted to Sydenham’s nescience about the natural world, his rejection of theory and his embrace of radical empiricism. Sydenham’s impact on Locke was indelible, providing an intellectual underpinning for key aspects of the Essay Concerning Human Understanding.
