Culture: Philosophy - John Locke

John Locke

John Locke, character name and philosopher
Born: 29 August 1632
Birthplace: Wrington, England
Died: 28 October 1704

In the Essay Concerning Human Understanding Locke examines the nature of the human mind and the process by which it knows the world. Repudiating the traditional doctrine of innate ideas, Locke believed that the mind is born blank, a tabula rasa upon which the world describes itself through the experience of the five senses. Knowledge arising from sensation is perfected by reflection, thus enabling humans to arrive at such ideas as space, time, and infinity.

Locke distinguished the primary qualities of things (e.g., solidity, extension, number) from their secondary qualities (e.g., color, sound). These latter qualities he held to be produced by the impact of the world on the sense organs. Behind this curtain of sensation the world itself is colorless and silent. Science is possible, Locke maintained, because the primary world affects the sense organs mechanically, thus producing ideas that faithfully represent reality. The clear, common-sense style of the Essay concealed many unexplored assumptions that the later empiricists George Berkeley and David Hume would contest, but the problems that Locke set forth have occupied philosophy in one way or another ever since.

John Locke (1632-1704) is a famous philosopher who, among other things, promoted the concept of "Tabula Rasa" (title of episode 3). He also happens to share the name of a character on the show, which has lead to speculation that his theory of social philosophy may have direct impact to the future society of the survivors.

Politically active, Locke was personal physician and advisor to Anthony Ashley Cooper, the Earl of Shaftesbury, a leader in the parliamentary opposition to King Charles II. In 1681 Shaftesbury was accused of conspiring to overthrow Charles and was tried for treason. Although acquitted, he fled to the Netherlands and Locke followed. Locke stayed in exile until 1689, during which time he wrote his masterpiece, Essay Concerning Human Understanding, and actively plotted to put William of Orange on the English throne. Locke returned to England after King James II fled and William was crowned William III (in the turn of events known as the Glorious Revolution). Over the next several years he published his most important works, including A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), Two Treatises on Government (1690) and Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693). answers.com

To learn more about John Locke:
philosophypages.com
oregonstate.edu
oll.libertyfund.org

Here is a sample from the Stanford site: plato.stanford.edu
According to Locke, God created man and we are, in effect, God's property. The chief end set us by our creator as a species and as individuals is survival. A wise and omnipotent God, having made people and sent them into this world...as if we were made for one another's uses, as the inferior ranks of creatures are for our's.
It follows immediately that "he has no liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any creature in his possession, yet when some nobler use than its bare possession calls for it." So, murder and suicide violate the divine purpose.
If one takes survival as the end, then we may ask what are the means necessary to that end. On Locke's account, these turn out to be life, liberty, health and property. Since the end is set by God, on Locke's view we have a right to the means to that end. So we have rights to life, liberty, health and property. These are natural rights, that is they are rights that we have in a state of nature before the introduction of civil government, and all people have these rights equally.
Copyright © 2001
William Uzgalis

Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa & Empiricism:
Ultimately, in his acceptance of the existence of God, Locke was a dualist -- though only barely so; he did not consider man to be a divine creature fixed with ideas on coming into this world. Locke was an empiricist, viz., all knowledge comes to us through experience. "No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience." There is no such thing as innate ideas; there is no such thing as moral precepts9; we are born with an empty mind, with a soft tablet (tabula rasa) ready to be writ upon by experimental impressions. Beginning blank, the human mind acquires knowledge through the use of the five senses and a process of reflection. Not only has Locke's empiricism been a dominant tradition in British philosophy, but it has been a doctrine which with its method, experimental science, has brought on scientific discoveries ever since, scientific discoveries on which our modern world now depends.
Copyright: 1997-2004 Peter Landry

Tabula Rasa (Latin: "scraped tablet", though often translated "blank slate")

From Wikipedia:

Quote:

"In John Locke's philosophy, tabula rasa was the theory that the (human) mind is at birth a "blank slate" without rules for processing data, and that data is added and rules for processing it formed solely by our sensory experiences. The notion is central to Lockean empiricism. As understood by Locke, tabula rasa meant that the mind of the individual was born "blank", and it also emphasized the individual's freedom to author his or her own soul. Each individual was free to define the content of his or her character - but his or her basic identity as a member of the human species cannot be so altered. It is this presumption of a free, self-authored mind combined with an immutable human nature, from which the Lockean doctrine of "natural" rights derives.

In recent times, however, tabula rasa has come to be understood fundamentally differently. While the idea that the individual can be changed remains, the power to effect that change is now ascribed to society, not the self - and that power extends to the whole of human nature. Under this view, one can almost without restriction shape the individual by changing the individual's environment, and thus sensory experiences."

Relevance to LOST :

"Tabula Rasa" is the title of the third episode of LOST. In this Kate-centric episode, Kate's past comes into question as Jack finds she is the criminal to whom the handcuffs belonged. When Kate offers to explain what happened in her past, Jack refuses it, saying, "I don't want to know. It doesn't matter, Kate, who we were - what we did before this, before the crash. It doesn't really. . . 3 days ago we all died. We should all be able to start over." This suggests Jack believes Kate, and the rest of the castaways, have a 'tabula rasa'.

The idea of a tabula rasa is also echoed by the character John Locke in the episode ". . . In Translation", when Shannon comes looking for Boone he warned Sayid to stay away from her. Locke tells her she's giving Boone exactly what he wants, her attention, and then he says, "Everyone gets a new life on this island, Shannon. Maybe it's time you start yours." Locke believes that Shannon has a tabula rasa on this island as well, just as Jack said to Kate.

For more on Tabula Rasa:
en.wikipedia.org

See Also:
Tabula Rasa Episode Guide
Philosophy - Dues Ex Machina
Philosophy - Locke vs. Rousseau