An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

The major philosophical work of the British philosopher Locke. Published in 1690. Four volumes in total. It became the source of modern epistemology by consciously taking up the theme of the origin, certainty, and scope of knowledge. In the first volume, he denies the innateness of knowledge. In the second volume, he seeks the source of ideas, which are the components of knowledge, in experience, and created the starting point of British empiricism. From this point, Descartes' a priori method and the scholastic concept of substance are criticized. In the third volume, through the analysis of language, real essence and nominal essence are distinguished, and the essence of species is criticized as nothing more than a nominal essence, criticizing the scholastic substantial form. In the fourth volume, he seeks knowledge in the agreement and discordance of ideas, and argues that only intuitive and demonstrative knowledge has absolute certainty, but its scope is narrow, and knowledge of objects remains probabilistic. In moral theory, he adopted the theory of pleasure, but also had a vision of demonstrative morality.

[Hidemitsu Koike]

"Haruhiko Otsuki's translation of 'The Theory of Human Understanding', two volumes (Iwanami Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリスの哲学者ロックの哲学的主著。1690年刊。全四巻。知識の起源、確実性、範囲を自覚的に主題としたことによって近代認識論の源泉となる。第一巻では知識の生得性を否定。第二巻では、知識の構成要素である観念の源泉を経験に求め、イギリス経験論の出発点をつくった。ここからデカルトの先天的方法とスコラの実体概念が批判された。第三巻では、ことばの分析を通して、実在的本質と唯名的本質が区別され、種の本質は唯名的本質にすぎぬとしてスコラの実体的形相を批判する。第四巻では、知識を観念の一致・不一致に求め、直覚的・論証的知識のみが絶対確実性をもつが、その範囲は狭く、物体に関する知識は蓋然(がいぜん)的にとどまるとした。道徳論では快楽説をとるが、論証的道徳の構想も抱いていた。

［小池英光］

『大槻春彦訳『人間知性論』全二冊（岩波文庫）』

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