Class Notes on Locke and some reflections

(Originally written March 13, 2006 in Book 1)

These are notes from History of Philosophy I dated 3/13/06

Locke: Doctrine of Substance

In what do qualities inhere? Locke's answer: material substratum.

Two reasons for supposing the material substratum:
1. Unity of Qualities
2. Cause & Effect

Berkley's Criticism:

1. Material substratum is never sensed.
2. Material substratum is not necessary as a causal explanation (God will do)
3. Material substratum is unintelligible

Numbers 1 and 3 were refuted by Locke, but number 2 really pins Locke down.

Locke's Compatibilism (soft determinism)

2 Powers in the mind

1. Understanding - power of perception (sensory and mental)
2. Will - power to choose

Volition is the actual exercising of the will

Is the will free?

Locke's answer: Meaningless question. It is meaningless to ask if power is free. The right question is, "is man free?" A man is free if they are able to carry out what the will chooses.

Liberty - the ability to execute what is willed.

Locke defines a person as a thinking-intelligent being.

Personal identity - sameness of rational thought or being or sameness of consciousness

This comes from previous notes on Locke:

Free Will - Chris Linehan

Is there free will in man? This question is irrelevant. A will is always determined to perform some action. A being is free if it has the power to act according to its determined will. Thus, a relevant question would then be "what or who determines the will of man?"

This also comes from reflection of those Locke notes

Questions that need to be answered:

Who am I?

-Chris Linehan, a 22 year-old male in Upland, IN. I am a Christian, a philosopher, a writer, a lover, a son, a brother, a nephew and a grandson. I am, that is I exist. I have a form, one which is constantly in motion, and subject to internal and external changes. I have solidity, that is I cannot be reached through. I have texture. I can be seen. I have a taste and odor, which is frequently pointed out to me. I can be sensed. I can sense. I can sense physical things, as physical objects that I see, and touch, taste, smell and hear. But I can also sense other things that are not physical in nature. I sense feelings, emotions and a sense of God.

Who is God? (or what?)
How do God, if it exists, and I interact?