Can I read An Essay Concerning Human Understanding on EtoBox?

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke is a philosophy book available to read on EtoBox.

What is An Essay Concerning Human Understanding about?

DescriptionAn Essay Concerning Human Understanding is a book by English philosopher John Locke, first published in 1690. Locke presents the concept of the mind as a blank slate during birth, which gradually becomes filled through experiences. Divided into four books, Book I endeavors to challenge the rationalist belief in innate ideas. Book II outlines Locke's theory of ideas, making a clear distinction between passively acquired simple ideas, and actively constructed complex ideas, including numbers, causes and effects, abstract concepts, ideas of substances, identity, and diversity. Locke further differentiates between primary qualities, which are objectively existing qualities of bodies like shape, motion, and the arrangement of particles, and secondary qualities. Additionally, he presents a theory of personal identity, predominantly relying on psychological criteria. Book III focuses on language, while Book IV covers knowledge encompassing intuition, mathematics, moral philosophy, natural philosophy, faith, and opinion. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding played a pivotal role in shaping empiricism within modern philosophy and exerted a significant influence on Enlightenmen

Who reads An Essay Concerning Human Understanding?

Author

John Locke

Publisher

Global Grey ebooks

Published

2023

Language

EN

Category

philosophy

Subjects

Philosophy, Humanities

Rating

3.82 / 5 (169 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-13