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John Locke's Argument Analysis

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Locke’s argument is logical since it is reasonable that one is born without innate knowledge. As humans grow older and wiser, they experience certain sensations that allow them to perceive the world around them. The explanation regarding simple and complex ideas as well as how sensation and reflection go together all blends in together into what his argument is. Without the background information of the senses and the reflections that we receive from it, then the simple ideas would not be able to transform to complex ideas. For instance, everyone knows that a unicorn is a mythical creature. However, most people seem to have a pretty good visual sense on how it would look or act. This is because this complex idea is made from simple ideas mixed together that one has already …show more content…
In response to Descartes however, I find his argument to be invalid. One of Descartes main points is how God must be the answer to humans having innate knowledge. This is impossible though, because there many people all over the world that do not only have no religion, but do not even have an idea of God. For example, a young girl who is poor and uneducated will not have the knowledge of who or what a God is. If the same young girl had been educated, she would have gone through the experience of learning the abstract idea of a God and therefore believing in a religion. This brings us back to Locke’s argument and how knowledge is obtained through experience rather than having been born with information. Referring to the “God” answer almost seems like a lazy way to end an argument since it is what a lot of philosophers imply exists when there is just simply no other answer. If there is no other answer to one’s argument other than God, then is it really justifiable? No it is

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