Difference between revisions of "Essay Concerning Humane Understanding"

Latest revision as of 08:04, 18 May 2022

by John Locke

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding
Title not held by The Wolf Law Library at the College of William & Mary.
Author	John Locke
Editor
Translator
Published	London: Printed for Awnsham and John Churchil ... and Samuel Manship
Date	1700
Edition	Fourth
Language	English
Volumes	volume set
Pages	[38], 438 (i. e. 432), [12]
Desc.	Folio (33 cm.)

Born into a family of means but minor status in Wrighton, Somerset, John Locke (1632–1704) would become a philosopher and political theorist whose works would influence and shape the Enlightenment in Europe.

Locke's father was a country attorney and a steward to a powerful local family who sponsored the younger Locke's early education, beginning in 1647 in London. In 1652, Locke moved on to university at Christ Church, studying alongside the likes of John Dryden, Robert Hooke, and Christopher Wren. Locke took both a Bachelors and Masters of Arts, in 1656 and 1658.

Title page from George Wythe's personal copy of An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding (London: Printed for Awnsham and John Churchil ... and Samuel Manship, 1700). Wythe's copy is in a private collection.

In 1666 Locke met and befriended Anthony Ashley Cooper, the first Earl of Shaftesbury. In 1675, Locke took a Bachelor's of medicine at Christ Church, allowing him to occupy a medical studentship at the college. Shaftesbury appointed Locke as his personal physician, and remained Locke's patron for more than two decades. In 1679, when Shaftesbury's bid to bar the Catholic duke of York (later, King James II) from the royal succession failed, the two went into exile in the Netherlands, returning in 1688 when William III, a Protestant, was placed on the throne.^[1]

Locke's most significant works were published after his return to England. In 1689, he published his Essay Concerning Human Understanding (dated 1690), which he had begun while in exile. Locke's Essay was born of a lively conversation with a number of associates and friends, after which he wrote some "hasty and undigested thoughts" on the ultimate subject of the work. Dedicated to Thomas Herbert, the Earl of Pembroke, the Essay explores "the discerning faculties of man" with respect to the world around him. Locke considers the human mind to be a "blank slate" at birth, and advocates an exploration of the world in such a manner where sensation and perception dictate which attributes the explorer attributes to the object. In other words, Locke's work discouraged the attribution of innate, but imperceptible, qualities to objects, instead advocating attributing only perceptible qualities to items. The heart of his argument is that observers should not project human experience upon an object, instead resting solely on what was observable. Locke's essay serves as a guide regarding proper methods of thought regarding the observable world, and as a criticism of a rival theology.^[2]

Wythe's signature from the title page of his personal copy of An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. Wythe's copy is in a private collection.

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding is widely considered his seminal work for their analysis of human methods of thought and as criticisms of rival doctrines. Written while in exile from England, Locke's essay quickly took hold in a number of intellectual circles around Europe, became a cornerstone of 18th-century British empiricism, and had a lasting impact upon the time's conception of natural philosophy and of the nature of religious doctrine and political power.

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

George Wythe's copy of this book has survived, and is currently in a private collection. The title page boasts a clear, bold version of Wythe's signature in the top right corner.

Found inserted between the pages of the book was a manuscript list of "Garden Seeds" and "Hardy Bulbs," possibly not in Wythe's own hand, but presumably intended for filling his garden with flowering plants, and vegetables and herbs. A cookbook Wythe purchased in 1764, The Art of Cookery, uses many of these products as ingredients:

Garden Seeds.

Large Globe Onion

Turnip yellow

Radish early Salmon & Turnip

Lettice white cap & Grand Admiral

Endive white curled

Parsley

Spinage round

Cresses

Mustard

Beet white

Cucumber long prickly

Balsam

A list of seeds and bulbs (front) found in George Wythe's personal copy of An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. Wythe's copy is in a private collection.

Brocoli green curled

Savoy green curled

Thyme, Marjoram & Savory

Peas prussian dwarf blue

Beans Toker

Kidney Bean yellow dwarf

Good Henry or English mercury

Hardy Bulbs.

Ranunculus

Narcissus

Hyacinths

A list of seeds and bulbs (back) found in George Wythe's personal copy of An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. Wythe's copy is in a private collection.

References

↑ J. R. Milton, "Locke, John (1632–1704)," in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, accessed 30 April 2015.
↑ Olivia Smith, "Thinking Through Things in Texts: A Seventeenth-Century Example," Paragraph, 37, no. 1 (1998), 112-25.

External links

Read this book in Google Books.

[1] J. R. Milton, "Locke, John (1632–1704)," in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, accessed 30 April 2015.

[2] Olivia Smith, "Thinking Through Things in Texts: A Seventeenth-Century Example," Paragraph, 37, no. 1 (1998), 112-25.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
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+}}Born into a family of means but minor status in Wrighton, Somerset, [[wikipedia:John Locke|John Locke]] (1632&ndash;1704) would become a philosopher and political theorist whose works would influence and shape the Enlightenment in Europe.
-Born into a family of means but minor status, [[wikipedia:John Locke|John Locke]] (1632&ndash;1704) spent his early childhood in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pensford Pensford], a village south of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol Bristol]. His father was an attorney, and steward to the Pophams, a powerful local family. The elder John Locke curried favor with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Popham Alexander Popham] through serving as a captain in Popham's regiment of the parliamentarian army during the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_English_Civil_War English Civil War]. After the conclusion of hostilities, Popham recommended the younger John to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_School#Westminster_jargon Westminster School], a highly prestigious institution, in return for his father’s loyal service.<ref>J. R. Milton, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/16885 'Locke, John (1632–1704)',] in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' accessed 30 April 2015.</ref>
-Locke entered the school in 1647, and was made a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Scholar King’s Scholar in 1650], studying alongside the likes of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dryden John Dryden], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hooke Robert Hooke], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wren Christopher Wren].  2 years later, he was elected to a studentship at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Church,_Oxford Christ Church, Oxford].
+Locke's father was a country attorney and a steward to a powerful local family who sponsored the younger Locke's early education, beginning in 1647 in London. In 1652, Locke moved on to university at [[wikipedia:Christ Church, Oxford|Christ Church]], studying alongside the likes of [[wikipedia:John Dryden|John Dryden]], [[wikipedia:Robert Hooke|Robert Hooke]], and [[wikipedia:Christopher Wren|Christopher Wren]]. Locke took both a Bachelors and Masters of Arts, in 1656 and 1658.
 [[File:LockeEssayConcerningHumaneUnderstanding1700TitlePage.jpg|left|thumb|350px|Title page from [[George Wythe|George Wythe's]] personal copy of ''An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding'' (London: Printed for Awnsham and John Churchil ... and Samuel Manship, 1700). Wythe's copy is in a private collection.]]
-Locke was a man of varied interests, and well-versed in a number of subjects. His early education focused on the ancient languages, including Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Earning a Bachelor's and Masters of Arts by 1658, he also dabbled in poetry, theology, and natural philosophy while attempting to decide on a career path. He also studied medicine with something more than a casual interest, but not rising to the level of formal study. He held several teaching positions at Christ's Church: he was named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praelector praelector] in Greek and rhetoric, and later named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Church,_Oxford#Organisation censor] of moral philosophy. Later, he would tutor several students, none of them of note.
+In 1666 Locke met and befriended [[wikipedia:Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury|Anthony Ashley Cooper]], the first Earl of Shaftesbury. In 1675, Locke took a Bachelor's of medicine at Christ Church, allowing him to occupy a medical studentship at the college. Shaftesbury appointed Locke as his personal physician, and remained Locke's patron for more than two decades. In 1679, when Shaftesbury's bid to bar the Catholic duke of York (later, [[wikipedia:James II of England|King James II]]) from the royal succession failed, the two went into exile in the Netherlands, returning in 1688 when [[wikipedia:William III of England|William III]], a Protestant, was placed on the throne.<ref>J. R. Milton, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/16885 "Locke, John (1632–1704),"] in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' accessed 30 April 2015.</ref>
-After his term of censor ended, he held no more positions for a time, then only irregularly after that. His position within the college was precarious, as he had taken no holy orders, a requisite for high title absent royal dispensation. While Locke had procured as much, it was revocable at any time and thus not a source of much comfort. This uncertainty was swept away after he returned to Christ's Church in 1675 and took a Bachelor’s of medicine, allowing him to occupy a medical studentship at the college, which could be held by laypeople.
-Aside from tutoring irregularly, Locke did not accomplish much else of note within the halls of academia.
-Locke, after the conclusion of his term as censor in 1665, accompanied a diplomatic mission to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleve Cleves]. The purpose of the mission was to allow Sir Walter Vane to negotiate with the Elector of Brandenburg, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_William,_Elector_of_Brandenburg Frederick William] (known as the 'Great Elector'). Although the mission yielded little in the way of productive diplomacy, all accounts indicate that Locke, appointed secretary during the mission, greatly enjoyed his time abroad.
-After securing his medical studentship at Christ's Church in 1675, Locke embarked upon a three-year trip to France, motivated by failing health, and perhaps in part by the attribution of authorship of an anonymous pamphlet critical of a royal minister. During his travels, he began the practice of keeping a journal, documenting his day-to-day life. The journal’s tone does not rise to the level of intimate; however, it is not accurately described as clinical, either.
-Locke arrived in his initial destination, Montpellier, arriving in the port of Calais and subsequently traveling through Paris and Lyon. Though conversant in French, Locke could not read the language. To rectify this, he hired a tutor to teach him to read in French once ensconced at Montpellier. His newly earned ability to read French opened up a world of philosophical debate, as many French philosophers wrote in the vernacular rather than Latin. During this time, Locke completed two manuscripts intended for private circulation, and assisted in the composition of a folio, titled "Essay de Intellectu".
-Two years later, Locke agreed to tutor a Caleb Banks, the son of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_John_Banks,_1st_Baronet Sir John Banks], in Paris. He traveled to the city through Toulouse and Bordeaux, and aside from an autumn trip through provincial France in 1678, tutored the boy regularly until the two returned to England in 1679.
-In 1683, a number of Locke's acquaintances plotted to assassinate the Catholic monarch, and Locke found himself in an unstable position. After getting his affairs in order, he arrived in Rotterdam late in the year, beginning his exile.
+Locke's most significant works were published after his return to England. In 1689, he published his ''[[wikipedia:An Essay Concerning Human Understanding|Essay Concerning Human Understanding]]'' (dated 1690), which he had begun while in exile. Locke's ''Essay'' was born of a lively conversation with a number of associates and friends, after which he wrote some "hasty and undigested thoughts" on the ultimate subject of the work. Dedicated to [[wikipedia:Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke|Thomas Herbert]], the Earl of Pembroke, the ''Essay'' explores "the discerning faculties of man" with respect to the world around him. Locke considers the human mind to be a "blank slate" at birth, and advocates an exploration of the world in such a manner where sensation and perception dictate which attributes the explorer attributes to the object. In other words, Locke's work discouraged the attribution of innate, but imperceptible, qualities to objects, instead advocating attributing only perceptible qualities to items. The heart of his argument is that observers should not project human experience upon an object, instead resting solely on what was observable. Locke's essay serves as a guide regarding proper methods of thought regarding the observable world, and as a criticism of a rival theology.<ref>Olivia Smith, "Thinking Through Things in Texts: A Seventeenth-Century Example," ''Paragraph,'' 37, no. 1 (1998), 112-25.</ref>
-While fleeing to Rotterdam, Locke left behind a number of papers which indicate, in retrospect, that self-imposed exile was probably in his best interests. The writings attack pro-monarchist treatises such as Filmer's ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarcha Patriarcha]'' and Hobbes' ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan_(book) Leviathan]''. In his attacks, Locke insisted that absolute authority could not be held by a monarch, and advocated for the right of resistance against any would-be wielder of absolute power.
-Once in Rotterdam, Locke traveled immediately to Amsterdam. There, he read a number of works on medicine and gained previously-absent practical experience in the field by shadowing local luminaries, and, on one occasion, attending the autopsy of a lioness that had succumbed to a harsh winter.
-In addition to expanding his knowledge of contemporary medicine, Locke observed and was impressed by the Netherlands' policy of religious toleration. Instead of doctrinal differences leading to upheaval as in England, the Netherlands enjoyed a period of relative peace despite religious differences in its citizenry. This would prove to solidify Locke’s already-strong support for toleration in England. During this time, Locke also continued work on his ''Essay Concerning Human Understanding,'' producing a version of it that was nearly identical to the officially published version while still in Amsterdam.
 [[File:LockeEssayConcerningHumaneUnderstanding1700Signature.jpg|right|thumb|500px|[[George Wythe|Wythe's]] signature from the title page of his personal copy of ''An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding.'' Wythe's copy is in a private collection.]]
-While Locke flourished intellectually in Amsterdam, the foundation that he had built for himself back in England was crumbling due to his self-imposed exile. Due to his familiarity with a number of fellow political exiles in the Netherlands, and the Crown’s suspicion that he was responsible for authoring a number of libelous pamphlets, Locke was expelled from the studentship at Christ’s Church that he had so desperately sought to obtain. Furthermore, due to his alleged association with the Duke of Monmouth's failed coup attempt, the Crown attempted to have him arrested in Amsterdam. Locke again was forced into hiding.
+''An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding'' is widely considered his seminal work for their analysis of human methods of thought and as criticisms of rival doctrines. Written while in exile from England, Locke's essay quickly took hold in a number of intellectual circles around Europe, became a cornerstone of 18th-century British empiricism, and had a lasting impact upon the time's conception of natural philosophy and of the nature of religious doctrine and political power.
-Locke, on the heels of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_Revolution Glorious Revolution], returned to England in 1689. The next year, he published the ''Essay Concerning Human Understanding.'' From 1690 until 1700, he served in a number of civil service positions at the pleasure of the new king, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_III_of_England William of Orange, or William III], after his coronation. These positions dealt with matters of economic import, including a stint on the Board of Trade. Finally, in 1700, his health was too weak to allow him to continue work, and he retired to the English countryside near Oates. While he refined some existing works, he did not publish anything novel during this time. On October 28th, 1704, he died sitting in his study.
 ==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
-George Wythe's copy of this book has survived, and is currently in a private collection. The title page boasts a clear, steady version of Wythe's signature in the top right corner.
+George Wythe's copy of this book has survived, and is currently in a private collection. The title page boasts a clear, bold version of Wythe's signature in the top right corner.
-Found inserted between the pages of the book was a list of "Garden Seeds" and "Hardy Bulbs" in Wythe's handwriting, presumably intended for filling the ample gardens of his residence in Williamsburg or his house in Richmond, Virginia.
+Found inserted between the pages of the book was a manuscript list of "Garden Seeds" and "Hardy Bulbs," possibly not in Wythe's own hand, but presumably intended for filling his garden with flowering plants, and vegetables and herbs. A cookbook Wythe purchased in 1764, ''[[Art of Cookery|The Art of Cookery]]'', uses many of these products as ingredients:
 {| align="center"
@@ Line 65: / Line 43: @@
 [[wikipedia:Reseda (plant)|Mignianette]]
-Ten Weeks [[wikipedia:Matthiola|Stock]]
+[[wikipedia:Matthiola incana|Ten Weeks Stock]]
-Virginia Stock
+[[wikipedia:Malcolmia maritima|Virginia Stock]]
 [[wikipedia:Consolida|Rocket Larkspur]]
@@ Line 83: / Line 61: @@
 [[wikipedia:Mimosa pudica|Sensitive Plant]]
-[[wikipedia:Celosia cristata|Cockcombs]]
+[[wikipedia:Celosia cristata|Cockscombs]]
 [[wikipedia:Echinops|Globe Thistle]]
 Large Globe [[wikipedia:Onion|Onion]]
+[[wikipedia:Turnip|Turnip]] yellow
 [[wikipedia:Radish|Radish]] early Salmon &amp; Turnip
@@ Line 131: / Line 111: @@
 [[wikipedia:Kidney bean|Kidney Bean]] yellow dwarf
-[[wikipedia:Chenopodium|Good Henry]] or English mercury
+[[wikipedia:Blitum bonus-henricus|Good Henry]] or English mercury
 &nbsp;
@@ Line 170: / Line 150: @@
 ==See also==
+*''[[Art of Cookery|The Art of Cookery]]''
+*[[Known Surviving Wythe Volumes]]
 *''[[Works of John Locke|The Works of John Locke, Esq.]]''
 *[[Wythe's Library]]
@@ Line 177: / Line 159: @@
 ==External links==
 *Read this book in [https://books.google.com/books?id=JMxZAAAAcAAJ Google Books.]
+__NOTOC__
+[[Category:Horticulture]]
+[[Category:John Locke]]
+[[Category:Known Surviving Wythe Volumes]]
 [[Category:Philosophy]]
 [[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]
+[[Category:English]]
+[[Category:Folios]]
+[[Category:London]]

Difference between revisions of "Essay Concerning Humane Understanding"

Latest revision as of 08:04, 18 May 2022

by John Locke

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

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