The Meaning and Function of Simple Modes in the Philosophy of John Locke (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Meaning and Function of Simple Modes in the Philosophy of John Locke The meaning of the term simple mode in the philosophy of Locke has been felt as a difficulty by all Locke students. Leibniz' made many characteristic suggestions which, if adopted, would involve radical altera tions in the whole Essay; and even in the modern era of sympathetic interpretation the concept has always been considered unsatisfactory. Tagart2 feels this unsatisfactoriness in regard to both simple and mixed modes, but perhaps more especially in the ease of mixed modes. The terms seem to him to be obsolete, a reminiscence of the jargon of the schools from which Locke has not been able wholly to emancipate himself; difficult to understand, and without any corresponding advantage, they are to be regarded as defects in his work. Webb, a on the other hand, emphasises peculiarities of the simple modes only; to him these appear to involve the admission by Locke of an a priori element of thought, a suggestion of intel lect occasioned by an innate impotence of thought, as well as the uni versally recognised creation of modes by the mind in composition. To Webb himself this does not appear unsatisfactory, but as it is emphasised by him as a case of intellectualism, his view is tantamount to a state ment that the simple modes have been seriously misunderstood by all who have not interpreted Locke as an intellectualist - in other words, that they have furnished difficulties too great for almost all writers on Locke up to the time of Webb. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.