A Dictionary of Philosophy, Third Edition
. 1632–1704. Born in Somerset, he worked mostly in Oxford and London when not in exile because of his political activities against the Stuarts before 1688. His central work was in epistemology, where his ‘new way of IDEAS’ has led to his being regarded as the first main ‘British EMPIRICIST’. He insisted that ideas could only come from experience, though connexions between them could be known A PRIORI, and he elaborated the primary/ secondary QUALITY distinction.
He also wrote on political theory from a liberal point of view. Letters concerning Toleration, 1689 and after. Two Treatises of Government, 1690. An Essay concerning Human Understanding, 1690. See also BERKELEY, BUTLER, ESSENCE, IDENTITY (bibliography), INNATE (bibliography), MEANING, PERCEPTION, SHAFTESBURY, SORTAL, SPACE, SUBSTANCE.
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