It is an old charge against Locke that his commitment to a common substratum for the observable qualities of particular objects and his empiricist theory about the origin of ideas are inconsistent with one another. How could we have an idea of something in which observable qualities inhere if all our ideas are constructed from ideas of observable qualities? In this paper, I propose an interpretation of the crucial passages in Locke, according to which the idea of substratum is formed (...) through an elaborate mental process which he calls “supposition.” It is the same process we use when we form the idea of infinity − another problematic idea for an empiricist. In the end, Locke was more liberal than most empiricists in subscribing to the existence of ideas far removed from experience, because he accepted supposition as a legitimate way of constructing new ideas. (shrink)

An inaugural lecture.--On the study of history.--On some supposed consequences of the doctrine of historical progress.--On the foundation of the American Colonies.

Excerpt from On Some Supposed Consequences of the Doctrine of Historical Progress: A Lecture It is my strong conviction that history has arrived at no such crisis; that the indications of historical philosophy have been misunderstood, and that they do not point to the impending fall, but rather to the ap proaching regeneration of Christendom. I do not think that we should refuse to consider, in this lecture-room, a question which lies at the very root of the philoso phy of (...) history, merely because it happens also to be of the highest practical importance. I propose, therefore, to add a few remarks on this point, by way of supple ment to the two general lectures on the Study of History, in which the Doctrine of Historical Progress has been maintained. 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. (shrink)

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1861 Edition.