Question:

In the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke proposes an empiricist conception of knowledge that would agree with which of the following statement(s)?

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When studying empiricism, remember that it focuses on knowledge gained through sensory experience, rather than innate ideas or divine revelation.
Updated On: Apr 26, 2025
  • We do not know the real essences of things
  • We cannot have true science about things in the natural world
  • We can have true science about things in the natural world
  • We can have genuine knowledge of the existence of God
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The Correct Option is A, B, D

Solution and Explanation

John Locke’s empiricism holds that knowledge comes from experience, not from innate ideas.
Step 1: Analyzing Locke’s view on essences.
Locke believed that we could never know the real essences of things, only their nominal essences (the characteristics we attribute to them). This is why (A) is correct.
Step 2: Analyzing Locke’s view on science.
Locke proposed that true science is possible in the natural world, as science is based on empirical observation, making (C) incorrect.
Step 3: Analyzing knowledge of God.
Locke argued that knowledge of the existence of God is based on reason, making (D) a correct statement.
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