substance exists because we can see, hear, and smell it. Through these senses we begin

to recognize patterns without knowing the principle of identity (Palmer).

4. Rene Descartes, the father of western canon of philosophy, reestablished his system of beliefs because of his famed statement corgito ergo sum. Where is the place of the thing that thinks in Locke’s system? Explain the standard form and how it applies to the system of Descartes and Locke.

Descartes’ famed statement corgito ergo sum of “I think, therefore I am” is his realization that he is thinking and therefore cannot doubt his existence. He was a rationalist who believed that we can gain knowledge by the use of reason alone, without reference to the external world. John Locke thought that the human mind at birth was a tabula rasa, a blank tablet, on which experience writes the general principles and details of all knowledge. Basically all knowledge comes from experience. The place of the thing that thinks in Locke’s system is the human mind learning by experience as opposed to innate ideas already in place. The standard form is a consistent way of organizing deductive arguments, which involves a major premise, minor premise, and a conclusion. The stand form is to be a valid argument, saying “All As are Bs. S is an A. Therefore S is a B.” For example if John danced when Mary sang, and Mary sang; so John danced. The standard form helps point out if there is error in an argument. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Experience teaches us that an inference can initially seem more secure than it is; and if we knew which inferences are risk-free, we might be more alert to the points at which we risk error.” In Descartes system we have innate ideas, and justify them through, the use of reasoning and deduction. In Locke’s system all ideas come through experience and