CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Locke’s attempt to resurrect empiricism became necessary when the rationalists’ work of establishing “certain knowledge” derived from reasoning appeared to be completed. This allowed him to introduce the concept of tabula rasa, or a clean slate on which experience imprints, into the scenario. This, in turn, appeared to have laid the groundwork for Berkeley’s immaterialism, as he demonstrated how Locke’s empiricism could lead to external world skepticism and, finally, immaterialism. When David Hume assumed the empiricist tradition’s chair, his own goal was to demonstrate how scientists had been misled in their belief that induction was the basis by which laws of science could be deduced. He attempted to demonstrate the flaw in the argument by claiming that induction was merely based on a natural uniformity, which he incorrectly assumed to be genuine. The conclusion was that Hume evolved into an extreme skeptic, as we can see from his position that knowledge cannot be obtained.
Leave a Comment