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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Locke claim separates mankind from all other creatures on earth?

2. What does Locke say perception creates?

3. What does Locke say the mind is before it has experiences?

4. Where does understanding originate, according to Locke?

5. What does Locke say must be learned along with ideas?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Locke's account of the primary and secondary qualities of things.

2. Describe the two kinds of ideas Locke describes.

3. How does Locke define the faculty of perception?

4. What arguments does Locke make against Descartes' philosophy?

5. What is the difference between natural principles and innate principles?

6. How does Locke define practical principles?

7. What does Locke say about the innateness of moral principles?

8. What is the difference between sensation and reflection, in Locke's account?

9. What does Locke mean when he says that the mind is a blank slate?

10. What does Locke say happens if two people have the same idea about a thing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Using Locke's methodology, create a definition for an abstract word like esteem, or respect, or revenge or justice. (What other methods can you use? Which method is better?--i.e. more precise, or more effective?)

Essay Topic 2

Locke's definition of experience and language is based solely on individual experience--but what is the role of the family in promoting certain knowledge and restricting or prohibiting other kinds of knowledge? Does Locke account for teachers and parents in his arguments about knowledge and experience?

Essay Topic 3

Locke says that truth is a property of propositions, which take the form of sentences. Why are sentences necessary for truth? What makes sentences different than words alone? What is it about the unique arrangement of subject, verb and object that makes truth possible?

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