John LockEs View on Innate Knowledge Essay Example for Free

John LockEs View on Innate Knowledge Essay John Locke, a renowned English philosopher in the seventeenth century, argued against the pre-existing prevalent belief of innate knowledge, such as those led by Descartes. Many of Locke’s arguments begin with criticisms on philosophers’ opinion on innate knowledge, notably Descartes. Therefore, many of Locke’s arguments are direct rebuttals of Descartes and other philosophers’ beliefs about the existence of innate knowledge. To arrive at the conclusion that innate knowledge is impossible, Locke comes with various premises and rebuttals that add weight to his arguments. First, Locke emphasizes that knowledge and ideas are learned through experience, not innately. He argues that people’s minds at birth are ‘blank slate’ that is later filled through experience. Here, the ‘senses’ play an important role because ‘the knowledge of some truths, as Locke confesses, is very in the mind; but in a way that shows them not to be innate’. By this, Locke argues that some ideas are actually in the mind from an early age but these ideas are furnished by the senses starting in the womb. For example, the color blue and the  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœblueness’ of something is not that which is learned innately but is some is learned through exposures to a blue object or thing. So if we do have a universal understanding of ‘blueness’, it is because we are exposed to blue objects ever since we were young. The blue sky is what many would acquaint with blue easily and at a young age. Second, Locke argues that people have no innate principles. Locke contended that innate principles rely upon innate ideas within people but such innate ideas do not exist. He says this on the basis that there is no ‘universal consent’ that everyone agrees upon. Locke quotes that ‘There is nothing more commonly taken for granted that there are certain principles universally agreed upon by all mankind, but there are none to which all mankind give a universal assent’. This argues against the very foundation of the idea of innate knowledge because principles that garner universal assent are thought to be known innately, simply because it is the best explanation available. However, it cannot even be an explanation for such belief because no ‘universal consent’ exists. Rationalists argue that there are in fact some principles that are universally agreed upon, such as the principle of identity. But it is far-fetched to claim that everyone knows this principle of identity because for the least, children and idiots, the less-intelligent ones are not acquainted with it. There are several objections to these premises and arguments that are outlined above. The argument by Locke that there are some ideas that are in the mind at an early age gives credence to argument for the innate ideas. For ideas to be furnished by the senses later on there has to be ideas that are laid as foundations. If such ideas are innate, as acknowledged by Locke, no matter how trivial or less significant these ideas may be as one may argue, such claim could give weight to the idea of innate knowledge. Innate knowledge or ideas, after all, doesn’t imply that all ideas are innate because as one can see, there are things that we learn through our experiences and encounters in life as well. So as long as there is even the basic principle that is innate early in life, then innate knowledge can be known to exist. The validity behind the claim that there is no ‘universal consent’ is also questionable. Locke argues that no principle that all mankind agrees upon exists because there are those who are not acquainted with such principle, notably children and idiots. However, the terms children and idiots are somewhat misguided. How are children and especially the idiots categorized? Is there a specific criteria used for those who are classified as idiots? It is hard to generalize that idiots or those who are deemed less intelligent are not acquainted with certain principles because at times, intelligence is not the best indicator of someone’s knowledge or ideas. There are many intelligent people out there who take their status for granted and do not think, contemplate or make an effort to their best extent. The objections that are made against the initial arguments can be defended in certain ways. Regarding the objection that since there are innate ideas in the mind at an early age, innate knowledge exists, the term ‘innate’ should be thought of again in greater detail. Innate knowledge has to be significant enough for us to recount to be considered such. Thus, there comes a risk with considering the ideas within our minds early on as innate. For example, the knowledge of our hands and feet maybe imbedded to us at a very early stage. The knowledge of using our hands and feet are not so significant. The knowledge that we gain through our use of hands and feet could be vital knowledge that we may recount throughout. Throwing a baseball properly under a coach’s instructions is an example. Also, there is the claim that intelligence cannot be the sole indicator of one’s acquisition of ‘universal consent’ and that there isn’t a clear distinction of those who can understand universal principles to those who cannot. However, the important focus here should not be on defining ‘idiots’ and intelligence but on that universal consent is hard to be assembled by every single mankind. Therefore, more should be considered than just innate knowledge that could garner universal consent. Empirical principles that are derived from experience could garner universal assent too. For example, the fear of ‘dying’ or ‘getting seriously injured’ could mean that people would not jump out the roof from tall buildings. And this belief could be universal among all.

Hiroshima :: essays research papers

The biggest and bloodiest war ever fought on the face of the earth, World War II, was coming to a deadly end. The allied forces were starting to run out of options and resources. The United States of America decided to unleash the most destructive force they had, the power of the atom. Many supporters of the Atomic Bomb say that even though it killed thousands in Japan, it saved millions more everywhere else.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For the number of supporters of the bomb there were that many more skeptics that believed the atom bomb would never work. Some reasons that contributed to this theory were that it was so complex that someone working on it made a mistake somewhere. One of the major skeptics of the atomic bomb was Albert Einstein himself, which made many more people become skeptical. (â€Å"Hiroshima† 1998)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The pilot that dropped the atomic bomb was Colonel Paul Tibbets of the 509th Bomber squadron (James Chan â€Å"Hiroshima† 1997) and he was flying the Enola Gay, which was named after his mother and was a B-29-45-MD Super fortress. (Peter Wyden â€Å"Day One† 1984)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was 2:45 A.M. when the Enola Gay took off, after it got going it was flying at a ground speed of 330 M.P.H. The flight was going to take six and a half hours until they reached Hiroshima on the Honshu Island on Japan (U.S. National Archives â€Å"Hiroshima† 1999). Even though the crew knew their destination, Hiroshima, their target, the iota T-bridge, and that they were dropping a bomb, they didn’t know that it was an atomic bomb that would take out almost the entire city. (Peter Wyden â€Å"Day One† 1984) The name of the Bomb was named the â€Å"Little Boy† and it weighed 10,000 lbs. 137.5 of that was pure Uranium. When the bomb detonated the Uranium split into two and it started a fission chain reaction (â€Å"Hiroshima† 1998). The fireball created by the bomb was equal to six and a half tons of TNT. The heat in the hypocenter reached upwards to 3000 degrees Celsius (James Chan â€Å"Hiroshima† 1997). Within a mile of the blast fences, railroad ties and trees ignited from the heat. In the hypocenter iron melted and 900 feet from the hypocenter granite melted (Peter Wyden â€Å"Day One† 1984). The bomb was detonated at approximately 9:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945. Seen from five and a half miles away the explosion was 10 times as bright as the sun (James Chan â€Å"Hiroshima† 1997).

Critical Response to the film “Remember the Titans” Essay

â€Å"Remember The Titans† is a film text, centered by the issue of the injustice of a persons race and how it is triumphantly overcome. It is an uplifting story how an American town, Alexandria, conquered overwhelming resentment, friction and disharmony brought on by racial discrimination and mistrust. The town is further thrown into chaos, as protests rage over the killing of an African-American youth and then the integration of the major local High school; T.C. Williams. The integration lead to the demotion of a much loved and highly successful head coach of the school state football team by the name of Bill Yoast, the job’s new occupancy went to an African-American by the name of Coach Boone, who ultimately suffers injustice because of his race and the fact he was replacing a white coach which brought chaos to the white community. The injustice displayed in the film Remember the Titians can be seen numerous amounts of times. Coach Boone sets a wonderful example of the town learning to trust each other and work together and shows the boys a funeral where people had died fighting the same fight people are still fighting today and the injustice of this situation to everyone. The film shows justice can be achieved on earth if people learn to respect each other. This barrier is overcome when one of the black teammates refuses to protect his white teammates because they wont block for the black teammates, they are made to spend time with each other and learn about each others culture which ultimately they learn to respect each other no matter what race or where they came from. This lead to friction in the community and the boys parents wanting Coach Boone fired because of the communities outrage that the highs school had been joined together and the injustice being showed to each other through murdering people becau se of there skin colour and the disrespect shown because of the persons race. As the team learns to show each other good morals, trust and respect during a time where the community were showing signs of discrimination, hate and mistrust and this is when Coach Boone showed the injustice of how his father died having to fight this same fight and the team ultimately responded and overcame the difficulties of having a multicultural team with the assistance of democratic and authoritarian coaching styles by both Coach Boone and  Coach Yoast. The coaching styles improved the players motivational skills there self fulfillment to work together and set an example to be treated equally, which made the coaches and players of different races share the same goals and perception of the injustice of the peoples mistreatment because of race. As the team became an top contender and where playing every game with such passion and serving a sense of justice to each other when people would use racial comments on the field no matter what the race every member would stand up for each other. As the team worked together and both coaches shared there perceptions the team really achieved greatly and this rubbed of into the community. As examples of the white policeman acknowledging and congratulating a black titans efforts goes to prove that justice was being achieved on our earth. The town started accepting everyone for who they are and the titans where treated very well by the community for giving them belief and a sense of pride where justice could be achieved for everyone. In one circumstance Coach Boone had been called a monkey but as the team was well disciplined and respectful of everyone this only inspired everyone in the titans to work harder for each other which resulted in a win not only for the game but for the team to change another persons perspective on racism and achieve the justice they deserved. When the injustice of Coach Yoasts hall of fame removal and the tragic accident of captain Garys car crash It showed in the final game they would win a come from behind victory and Coach Yoast would ultimately not resort to cheating and instead achieve his justice by helping his black partner Coach Boone achieve their goal togeather rather than resort to backstabbing and cheating to improve his own reputation and achieve justice on earth for himself and Coach Boon. This showed that even though Gary had his tragic accident he achieved hiss goal with his teammates of winning the final and teaching the community to respect everyone no matter what there race. This film was a great example of justice being achieved and giving everyone hopes through the Coach Boones leadership skills and charisma to inspire a team, community and a nation. The film showed how these people working together and being respectful of each other can truly inspire and set an example for everyone to achieve justice on earth. Treating everyone equally and teaching them the injustice of what had happened because of the war over race ultimately inspired the boys and the nation to achieve justice for everyone on earth.

God of Small Things - 960 Words

Critical Race Theory in The God of Small Things Sex and race are always useful and mentioned with intention in texts. In Arundhati Roy’s novel The God of Small Things there is a clear intention to the use of sex and race to keep and rid of the main key characters in the novel. The character or characters who engage in unlawful sexual acts are punished while unwanted or undesired race is purged. In this Indian society that worships England, Love Laws, and the Caste System race and sex creates intra-racial racism within the Indian communities that is reinforced with force through the government and Caste System. Intra-racial racism is a result of internalized racism while internalized racism is a result of Anglophilia. The God of Small†¦show more content†¦Additionally, throughout the story there are references to Africa, especially amongst the twins and Velutha, yet when Rahel says to Kochu Maria that she will eventually be living in Africa, Kochu Maria responds saying â€Å"Africa’s full of ugly black people and mosquitoes,† showing disdain for people of dark color (Roy 175). The correlation between blackness and vice becomes even more entangled when the character of Kari Saipu is introduced as the â€Å"Black Sahib†. This man had taken a young boy as his lover and then killed himself when the child was taken away, leading to the connection of even the word black as something taboo (Roy 51). When Sophie Mol drowns it is Velutha, who was not even present when the accident occurred, who is blamed and then brutally beaten, and dies in prison. There can be no doub t that, though his position in the caste system sets him aside culturally, Velutha’s uniquely dark color consecrates him visually as unclean and unworthy. In conclusion, intra-racial racism can be seen in The God of Small Things through the hierarchal distinction of skin color in India. This can be seen in relation to the caste system as well as the family structure. Anglo traits in a person make them worthy of worship while darkShow MoreRelatedThe God of Small Things1370 Words   |  6 PagesVelutha of Small Things The small, more trivial things in life are more often than not eschewed, and because of this they are left to find a safe haven in furtive localities similar to â€Å"History House† or the river. Being the watch keeper of these small things can be good as well as bad, as shown through Velutha’s ultimate fate. 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It problematizes theRead MoreThe God Of Small Things By Arundhati Roy1628 Words   |  7 PagesArundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things explores the tragic lives of twins Estha and Rahel through a profound application of language and detail. Roy’s utterly unique writing style reels the reader in through hard to grasp yet beautiful language, allowing one to appreciate the beauty within such a tragic story. Roy repeats a specific phrase throughout the novel at pivotal moments within the twin’s, specifically Estha’s, lives. This phrase, â€Å"Little Man. He lived in a cara-van. Dum dum†, is utilizedRead MoreThe God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy532 Words   |  2 PagesFrom what I have read so far in the book, â€Å"The God of small Things,† there are many major themes that have captivated my attention. Those include â€Å"The Love Laws,† how the relationship between Chacko and Margaret got to the point of love, the blame and guilt between the characters, and of course â€Å"Communism.† Based on four these themes many things have gone wrong for the lives of the characters, especially with, â€Å"Blame and Guiltiness.† Love and rules (Love Laws), are constantly butting heads in theRead MoreThe God of Small Things: A Plot Summary Essay1380 Words   |  6 PagesAlthough desire presents itself in many charged forms in The God of Small Things, we can view the plot of the narrative as a series of disrupted yet connected events that are propelled by, or a product of, individual resistance fuelled by a Desire to Transgress. This plot of individual resistance is represented through the female protagonist Ammu and her daughter Rahel, as a foil of her mother, and is most explicit in the ending of the novel, when they both commit sexual acts that violate the conditions