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This is a 5 page paper discussing Locke’s and Hume’s concepts of certainty. In John Locke’s “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (1690) and David Hume’s “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding” (1748) both philosophers examine the theory of knowledge and the aspects of ideas, relationships, and certainty. Locke used the different types of knowledge (intuitive, demonstrative, and sensory) to discuss the level of certainty of ideas based on their degree of probability and margin of error. All ideas could then be ranked hierarchically in regards to their degree of certainty. Intuitive and demonstrative knowledge had a different degree of evidence and certainty than did sensory knowledge. Hume, on the other hand, did not believe that anything outside of the sensory field, such as metaphysical discussions, could be considered certain. For Hume impressions were the most vivid elements of knowledge and ideas were less vivid but based on impressions. Ideas could be considered certain only if they were factual and had spatial or temporal relationships or mathematical universality and all other ideas had no certainty as they included doubt.
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5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_TJcertn1.rtf
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relationships, and certainty. Locke used the different types of knowledge (intuitive, demonstrative, and sensory) to discuss the level of certainty of ideas based on their degree of probability and margin
of error. All ideas could then be ranked hierarchically in regards to their degree of certainty. Intuitive and demonstrative knowledge had a different degree of evidence and certainty than did
sensory knowledge. Hume, on the other hand, did not believe that anything outside of the sensory field, such as metaphysical discussions, could be considered certain. For Hume impressions were the
most vivid elements of knowledge and ideas were less vivid but based on impressions. Ideas could be considered certain only if they were factual and had spatial or temporal relationships
or mathematical universality and all other ideas had no certainty as they included doubt. Philosophers have long studied the nature of knowledge (epistemology)
in regards to certainty and the concept of certainty is also used throughout the argument of theories of knowledge and in a sense linked in many ways. John Lockes theory
of knowledge presented in "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding" in 1690 he began to search for a basic starting point on which to build a foundation of knowledge. Locke basically
assented to three kinds of knowledge: intuitive, demonstrative, and sensitive and all are based upon the concept of "ideas" (Kenyon, 1989). Knowledge for Locke was the perception of agreement or
disagreement between ideas which are objects within the mind with which we think and know. Ideas can be identified by each individual as unique and can be distinguished from other
ideas. By agreeing or disagreeing with the ideas, relationships are built which lead to deductive reasoning. For Locke, ideas are caused by the real existence of objects outside of the
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