Describe Locke’s definition of empiricism. Discuss his concepts of sensation and reflection, and of simple and complex ideas.
Locke was concerned with how the mind acquired knowledge, and rejected Descartes idea of innate ideas. He believed what Aristotle also thought of the mind at being a tabula rasa meaning a clean slate, which is filled by experiences as the individual grows.
According to Locke, two kinds of experiences are derived by the mind. They are sensation and reflection. The sensation experience is derived by day to day physical objects that are perceived by our minds. The reflection is based upon the sensory imprints, already in the mind.
The reflection experiences are followed after the mind has been exposed to sensory experiences. There must be a reservoir in the mind, which reflects it. By reflecting one can recount past sensory memories, and fuse those together to synthesize well advanced ideas.
Locke gave the concept of simple and complex ideas. He called simple ideas as those which arise, from both sensory and reflection. They are the basics of an idea and that the simple idea cannot be reduced to even simpler ideas.
These simple ideas are not subjected to analysis. The mind however, compiles these simple ideas which are called complex ideas. These complex ideas can be analysed.