Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Descartes’s Influence on Locke’s Theory of Knowledge

Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research volume 40, pages 133–151 (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

An explicit assessment of the extent of René Descartes's influence on John Locke's theory of knowledge as presented in his work An Essay Concerning Human understanding calls for a study of their respective philosophical works in some detail. An examination of their individual philosophical standpoints and the objectives behind their projects suggest a striking difference between the spirit and intent of their projects. However, the marked similarities in the contents of Descartes's Rules for the Direction of the Mind and Locke's An Essay Concerning Human understanding and several factors like Locke's own assertion in his first letter to Stillingfleet and Lady Masham's own account of her conversation with Locke indicate that the French philosopher did exert a certain degree of influence on Locke's theory of knowledge as presented in his Essay. An attempt is made in the present work primarily to understand how Descartes's thoughts have influenced the various aspects of Locke's theory of knowledge in his Essay. It appears from this that Locke did not borrow blindly from Descartes and had in fact tried to build a bridge between empiricism and rationalism.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  • Aaron, R. I. (1955a). John Locke (2nd ed., pp. 9–10). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aaron, R. I. (1955b). John Locke (2nd ed., pp. 220–221). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aaron, R. I. (1955c). John Locke (2nd ed., pp. 221, 224). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aaron, R. I. (1955d). John Locke (2nd ed., p. 241). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Copleston, F. (1994). A history of philosophy (Vol. IV, p. 83). Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Descartes, R. (1955a). Rules for the direction of the mind. In The philosophical works of Descartes rendered into English by Elizabeth S. Haldane and G.R.T. Ross (Vol. 1, p. 26). Dover Publications, Inc.

  • Descartes, R. (1955b). Discourse on the method of rightly conducting the reason. In The philosophical works of Descartes rendered into English by Elizabeth S. Haldane and G.R.T. Ross (Vol. 1, p. 101). Dover Publications, Inc.

  • Descartes, R. (1955c). Rules for the direction of the mind. In The philosophical works of Descartes rendered into English by Elizabeth S. Haldane and G.R.T. Ross (Vol. 1, p. 9). Dover Publications, Inc.

  • Descartes, R. (1955d). Discourse on the method of rightly conducting the reason. In The philosophical works of Descartes rendered into English by Elizabeth S. Haldane and G.R.T. Ross (Vol. 1, p. 92). Dover Publications, Inc.

  • Descartes, R. (1955e). Discourse on the method of rightly conducting the reason. In The philosophical works of Descartes rendered into English by Elizabeth S. Haldane and G. R. T. Ross (Vol. 1, p. 121). Dover Publications Inc.

  • Descartes, R. (1955f). Discourse on the method of rightly conducting the reason. In The philosophical works of Descartes rendered into English by Elizabeth S. Haldane and G. R. T. Ross (Vol. 1, p. 94). Dover Publications Inc.

  • Descartes, R. (1955g). Rules for the direction of the mind. In The philosophical works of Descartes rendered into English by Elizabeth S. Haldane and G. R. T. Ross (Vol. 1, p. 7). Dover Publications Inc.

  • Descartes, R. (1955h). Rules for the direction of the mind. In The philosophical works of Descartes rendered into English by Elizabeth S. Haldane and G. R. T. Ross (Vol. 1, p. 8). Dover Publications Inc.

  • Descartes, R. (1955i). Meditations on first philosophy. In The philosophical works of Descartes rendered into English by Elizabeth S. Haldane and G.R.T. Ross (Vol. 1, p. 188). Dover Publications Inc.

  • Gibson, J. (1917a). Locke’s theory of knowledge and its historical relations (p. 205). Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, J. (1917b). Locke’s theory of knowledge and its historical relations (p. 209). Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, J. (1917c). Locke’s theory of knowledge and its historical relations (p. 208). Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, J. (1917d). Locke’s theory of knowledge and its historical relations (p. 207). Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, J. (1917e). Locke’s theory of knowledge and its historical relations (p. 210). Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, J. (1917f). Locke’s theory of knowledge and its historical relations (p. 223). Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jolley, N. (2004). Locke his philosophical thoughts (p. 13). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locke, J. (1975a). The epistle to the reader. In P. H. Nidditch (Ed.), An Essay concerning human understanding (p. 7). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locke, J. (1975b) An essay concerning human understanding. In Nidditch, P. H. (Eds.), Book IV, Chap. III, Sec. 9 (p. 544). Oxford University Press.

  • Locke, J. (1975c). An essay concerning human understanding. In Nidditch, P. H. (Eds.), Book IV, Chap. IV, Sec. 7 (p. 565) Oxford University Press.

  • Locke, J. (1975d). An essay concerning human understanding. In Nidditch, P. H. (Eds.), Book I, Chap. I, Sec. 2 (p. 43). Oxford University Press.

  • Locke, J. (1975e). An Essay concerning human understanding. In Nidditch, P. H. (Eds.), Book IV, Chap. I, Sec.2 (p. 525). Oxford University Press.

  • Locke, J. (1975f) An essay concerning human understanding. In Nidditch, P. H. (Eds.), Book I, Chap. I, Sec. 8 (p. 47). Oxford University Press.

  • Locke, J. (1975g). An essay concerning human understanding. In Nidditch, P. H. (Eds.), Book IV, Chap. II, Sec.1 (pp. 530–531). Oxford University Press.

  • Locke, J. (1975h). An essay concerning human understanding. In Nidditch, P. H. (Eds.), Book IV, Chap. II, Sec.2 (p. 531). Oxford University Press.

  • Locke, J. (1975i). An essay concerning human understanding. In Nidditch, P. H. (Eds.), Book IV, Chap. XVII, Sec.3 (p. 669). Oxford University Press.

  • O’Connor, D. J. (1967a). John Locke (p. 42). Dover Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, D. J. (1967b). John Locke (p. 27). Dover Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, D. J. (1967c). John Locke (p. 33). Dover Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ware, C. S. (1950) The influence of Descartes on John Locke, a bibliographical study. In Revue internationale de philosophie (p. 216).

Download references

Funding

No funding was provided for the completion of this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vidyasagar College, Department of Philosophy, University of Calcutta, 39 Sankar Ghosh Lane, Kolkata, 700006, India

    Dipanwita Chakrabarti

Authors
  1. Dipanwita Chakrabarti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dipanwita Chakrabarti.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chakrabarti, D. Descartes’s Influence on Locke’s Theory of Knowledge. J. Indian Counc. Philos. Res. 40, 133–151 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40961-023-00300-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40961-023-00300-5

Keywords

search

Navigation