Explain Locke’s view that we can have knowledge of an external world despite our being directly aware only of sense data. Do you agree with him, or do you side with his critics who say that we can know only the contents of our minds?

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John Locke stated that the knowledge of the external world is possible through sensory experience. Yet, there is a limited number of things that one can actually know about the external reality in this way. For example, a person can know that they and their mind exist and that other things and individuals exist. It is valid to say that from Locke’s perspective, a person learns about the world by distinguishing themselves from other people and objects in the environment and by understanding that those people and objects are distinct from their minds.

I tend to agree with Locke’s view because everything one perceives in the immediate environment seems to really be there. One has no need to generate any ideas about those things to know they actually exist; he or she may simply touch them and see them. At the same time, it is harder to know that some far-away objects exist and, thus, we know only certain ideas about their existence and qualities.

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Academic.Tips. (2022) 'Explain Locke's view that we can have knowledge of an external world despite our being directly aware only of sense data. Do you agree with him, or do you side with his critics who say that we can know only the contents of our minds'. 14 February.

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Academic.Tips. (2022, February 14). Explain Locke's view that we can have knowledge of an external world despite our being directly aware only of sense data. Do you agree with him, or do you side with his critics who say that we can know only the contents of our minds? https://academic.tips/question/explain-lockes-view-that-we-can-have-knowledge-of-an-external-world-despite-our-being-directly-aware-only-of-sense-data-do-you-agree-with-him-or-do-you-side-with-his-critics-who-say-that-we-can-kn-3/

References

Academic.Tips. 2022. "Explain Locke's view that we can have knowledge of an external world despite our being directly aware only of sense data. Do you agree with him, or do you side with his critics who say that we can know only the contents of our minds?" February 14, 2022. https://academic.tips/question/explain-lockes-view-that-we-can-have-knowledge-of-an-external-world-despite-our-being-directly-aware-only-of-sense-data-do-you-agree-with-him-or-do-you-side-with-his-critics-who-say-that-we-can-kn-3/.

1. Academic.Tips. "Explain Locke's view that we can have knowledge of an external world despite our being directly aware only of sense data. Do you agree with him, or do you side with his critics who say that we can know only the contents of our minds?" February 14, 2022. https://academic.tips/question/explain-lockes-view-that-we-can-have-knowledge-of-an-external-world-despite-our-being-directly-aware-only-of-sense-data-do-you-agree-with-him-or-do-you-side-with-his-critics-who-say-that-we-can-kn-3/.

Bibliography

Academic.Tips. "Explain Locke's view that we can have knowledge of an external world despite our being directly aware only of sense data. Do you agree with him, or do you side with his critics who say that we can know only the contents of our minds?" February 14, 2022. https://academic.tips/question/explain-lockes-view-that-we-can-have-knowledge-of-an-external-world-despite-our-being-directly-aware-only-of-sense-data-do-you-agree-with-him-or-do-you-side-with-his-critics-who-say-that-we-can-kn-3/.

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"Explain Locke's view that we can have knowledge of an external world despite our being directly aware only of sense data. Do you agree with him, or do you side with his critics who say that we can know only the contents of our minds?" Academic.Tips, 14 Feb. 2022, academic.tips/question/explain-lockes-view-that-we-can-have-knowledge-of-an-external-world-despite-our-being-directly-aware-only-of-sense-data-do-you-agree-with-him-or-do-you-side-with-his-critics-who-say-that-we-can-kn-3/.

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