Comparing Descarte and John Locke Ideas of Self

René Descartes and John Locke are often sees as two of the first early modern philosophers in the seventeen century. Both of them attempt to find answers to the same questions in metaphysics and epistemology such as, what is knowledge. Is there certainty in knowledge? What roles do the mind and body play in the acquisition of knowledge? However both philosophers do not provide the same answers to these questions.

According Descartes, knowledge depends on the absolute certainty. Definite knowledge cannot come from the outside world via the senses since perception is unreliable (Descartes, ). He believes that experience and deduction are two ways of discovering knowledge. If knowledge didn't come from within then it must come from experience of the outside world. Further he believes in contrast to perception, that deduction "can never be performed wrongly by an intellect which is in the least degree rational". Therefore, deductive knowledge is the only certain knowledge.

Such system requires a basis of intuitively understood principles from which knowledge can be deduced. Descartes further believes that there is such idea of the existence of the self and that God's existence. These principles are revealed by natural light and cannot be in any way being open to doubt. He believes that these principles are innate

On the contrary, Locke does not believe that there is any certain knowledge (Locke, ). According to Jon Locke, the mind at birth is a blank tablet, which is subsequently written upon by sensory experience. For Locke, knowledge is possible to a very high degree. Locke believes that innate ideas cannot do anything for knowledge. For him, it is useless to assume, anything occult, opaque, mysterious, hidden away in the recesses of the mind. The real cause of Locke's hatred of innate ideas is his horror of anything mystical. Thus, if you pretend to have any knowledge, you must be prepared to tell where it comes from. It would not do to appeal, as Descartes did, to a certain impression of the clearness and distinctness of the ideas. Their origin will decide their value. For Locke, the origin comes from experience.

Since Locke is not concerned with certainty, he needs not to abandon ideas from perception. He says that all ideas come from sensation and reflection, knowledge can and does rely on the sense and observations, and it is all founded on experience.

To summarize, Descartes and Locke are