Concerning Human Understanding...

John Locke's piece of "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding" emphasizes the ideology that everyone is born with everything there is to know. In addition, it's just about being able to trigger those views and ideas within us.

I found Locke's piece quite fascinating because in so many ways, we do gain our knowledge through personal experiences and how we are able to reflect upon ourselves. In this essay, Locke revolves around two primarily points: sensation and reflection. To begin, Locke draws on the illusion of the mind as a white piece of paper. As we go through life, this white piece of paper clings onto the knowledge that is triggered and created from personal experiences. I personally agree with Locke on this matter. Experiences, I would have to say are very essential to the development of life because it helps define who we are and develops our views and thinking. I'm sure that on some level, we were all able to gain at least a one or two things from life experiences. Experiences allows us to see things and perceive things on a different level we would not have seen, thus ideas and views are found. Quite similarly, Locke then focuses on how perception is gain from sensible items such as how something would look to how it tastes. For example, if a little kid were to touch a hot stove and have a bad experience, the kid will consider the next encounter with a stove. The hot stove triggers the kid's understanding, therefore, the kid's is able to draw a new idea.These perception of these direct senses also help trigger our understandings and views within us.

On the other hand, Locke focuses on how we are able to reflect upon ourselves, hence our ideas and understandings are also created. The ideology that we are already born with everything we need to know draws upon the bases of reflection. Locke use reflection in the sense that everyone has the ability to reason and reflect within themselves, and if done correctly, ideas will be generated. In sense, that also means that we are able to doubt, believe, have the will, and observe within ourselves. I particularly find this interesting because of the constant inner-struggle everyone has inside of them as well as other things. In our minds, we all have common understand of what is right or wrong, therefore, there is always a constant battle between ourselves to do what we feel is right. These constant battles, to which we can refer to Locke's term of reflection, at the same time create more understandings and views just from these simple or complex operation within our minds.

In the end, Locke fully shows believes that ideas are generated from these two points. Sensation that holds as a gateway opening idea flowing from inside of us. From there, our abilities to think within these sensation leads to being able to reflect within our own thoughts, therefore, triggering more locked ideas and views. Locke's essay doesn't believe that ideas are created outside of us, but really inside of us. It's just a matter of being able to trigger those ideas and views inside of us.