The history and context of journalism; Seminar disccusion- Locke, knowledge, the soul and solipsism!

I felt much more relaxed about the latest seminar, as well as a feeling of a greater knowledge of the subject of John Locke and his essay concerning human understanding. On the last post I included my seminar notes. However there were some interesting points discussed in the seminar not included in my paper; such as the largely discussed idea about the soul.

Locke’s theory of knowledge was described by the seminar group as; more practical than other philosophers’ works, and similar to that of Machiavelli. It was pointed out that deductive reasoning was used and that it was the belief of Locke that the world and to be viewed and experienced through the senses to be understood. The idea that the mind is like a blank slate or canvas and then gains knowledge was considered. The term deist was also used; the belief that God created the universe and then left; as was the view of John Locke.

The discussion of the soul then began and included some interesting ideas on the subject of the soul. The soul described as being separate to the body. The opinion that the soul could live without the need for a body and that the soul would remain after death, was also discussed. Aristotle’s ship of Thesis theory was used to explain the soul’s distinct individuality to that of the body. The ship, regularly had planks changed after damage so that eventually it did not resemble the ship of Thesis at all; the argument states that, is this still the same ship? Also discussed was the theory that the soul reflects on ideas, holds them, and therefore if it became detached from the body, it could still survive on its own.

Next we questioned, when does the soul actually begin to exist if this theory is accurate, however after viewing Locke’s theory we arrived at the conclusion that the soul actually arrives when the senses begin to perceive. The example of a goldfish having a poor memory was used to illustrate Locke’s idea of a person without a soul.

Next to be considered was the idea of perceiving; does a tree make a sound when it falls if no-one is around to hear it? Berkley argued that thoughts only exist when they are perceived and objects flash in and out of existence however I believe that objects are always in existence whether we perceive them or not, because even if we are not perceiving them, then others may be perceiving them. However this questioned how we perceive things, and whether we all perceive objects in the same way. Does everyone see objects the same? Does a tree to me differ to the perception of a tree to someone else? Is my idea of green the same as everyone else’s? This is an example of solipsism, and an intriguing idea, however I do not agree with it.

The session ended with a final evaluation of ideas discussed, however i feel it would be interesting to continue some of the thoughts about the soul and how it was believed ideas were perceived.