Education

John Locke’s empiricism and education as conduct

The writings of the late 17th-century empiricist John Locke on philosophy, government, and education were especially influential during the Enlightenment. In the field of education, Locke is significant both for his general theory of knowledge and for his ideas on the education of youth. Locke’s empiricism, expressed in his notion that ideas originate in experience, was used to attack the doctrine that principles of reason are innate in the human mind. In An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), Locke argued that ideas come from two “fountains” of experience: sensation, through which the senses convey perceptions into the mind, and reflection, whereby the mind works with the perceptions, forming ideas. Locke thought of the mind as a “blank tablet” (tabula rasa) prior to experience, but he did not claim that all minds are equal. In Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693) he insisted that some minds have a greater intellectual potential than others.

For education, Locke’s empiricism meant that learning comes about only through experience. Education, which Locke felt should address both character and intellect, is therefore best achieved by providing the pupil with ... (200 of 123,992 words)