Table of Contents

Introduction i. Biography 1. Locke's Theory of Ideas i. Book I: Locke's argument against innate ideas ii. Book II: Locke's empiricist theory of ideas iii. Complex Ideas iv. Ideas and the veil of perception v. Ideas of Primary Qualities vi. Secondary Qualities vii. Perception and Judgement viii. Molyneux's problem ix. Locke's Ethics of Belief x. Error and the association of ideas 2. Locke's Theory of Matter i. Substance and early-modern materialism ii. Locke the 'Underlabourer' iii. Locke's corpuscularian theory of substance iv. Substratum v. Scepticism in Locke's theory of substance vi. Natural Kinds and traditional classification vii. Critical response to Locke's theory of substance 3. Locke's Theory of Language i. Sense and reference in Locke's theory of ideas ii. Constructivism and words iii. Particular and General Names iv. Remedies for the imperfection of language 4. Locke's Theory of Identity i. Individuation and identity ii. The conditions for identity iii. Personal Identity iv. Critical response to Locke's account v. The gaps in identity and Hume's theory 5. Locke's Theory of Morality i. The Significance of Morality in the Essay ii. Locke's Natural Law morality iii. Locke's moral rationalism iv. Locke's hedonism: reward and punishment v. Motivation and the Will vi. Suspension of the Will vii. The Righteousness of Moral law 6. Locke's Theory of Knowledge i. Locke's Definition of Knowledge ii. The degrees of knowledge iii. Reality of knowledge iv. Knowledge of substances v. Judgment and Probable Knowledge Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

A concise and coherent overview of Locke, ideal for second- or third-year undergraduates who require more than just a simple introduction to his thought.

About the Author

Patricia Sheridan is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Guelph, Canada. She recently edited The Philosophical Works of Catharine Trotter Cockburn (Broadview Press, 2006).

Reviews

"Locke is one of the most perplexing if modern philosophers. Although the broad outlines of his empiricist project in the Essay are clear enough, many of the specific topics he treats there such as the source, nature, and function of ideas, the workings of language, personal identity, etc. have perplexed his readers right up to the present. It is precisely on these topics that Sheridan's clear and cogent book offers judicious and helpful guidance." - Thomas M. Lennon, University of Western Ontario, Canada

[This book] will be useful to undergraduate students who are seeking to obtain a workable, lightly contextualised grasp of Locke's big ideas in order to compare them to the ideas of other philosophers.
*Locke Studies*