¶ … John Locke. There is one reference used for this paper.
There have been a number of theories which have influenced the field of psychology. It is interesting to examine John Locke's theory of knowledge and its influence on modern psychology.
Theory of Knowledge
John Locke's theory of knowledge "asserted that at birth the human mind is simply a blank receptacle awaiting its bombardment by sense data coming from outside the human body. This data in turn triggers the operation of the mind -- which he conceived basically as a machine designed to manipulate the data into structures called ideas. Some ideas are fairly simple and straightforward, such as hot, red, loud, sweet, putrid -- rather direct fed by the senses, while other ideas are more complex and require the mind to manipulate this data along more complicated structural lines -- of categories, of cause and effect relationships, of complex logical relationships (www.newgenevacenter.org/biography/locke2.htm)." The mind is able to learn and mature due to these experiences.
Locke's theory concerning the way a person learns about the world in which she or he lives is supported and reinforced by many of today's studies in psychology.
Locke believed that "there was no such thing as innate ideas which we are born with and which come into action as we mediate on them, which had previously been the classic understanding of how a person came to know their world (www.newgenevacenter.org/biography/locke2.htm)."
Modern psychologists can interpret Locke's theory of knowledge to imply that "ideas arise from external stimuli -- not from sources internal to the human mind (www.newgenevacenter.org/biography/locke2.htm)."
Conclusion
Although John Locke lived during the 17th century, his theory of knowledge is still utilized by many modern psychologists today.
References
John Locke. (accessed 23 February 2005). www.newgenevacenter.org/biography/locke2.htm).
He continued to study medicine with Thomas Sydenham as his mentor. (Wikipedia) He had an unsuccessful attempt to prevent James II from reaching the throne, and, as a result of his failure, he had been obliged to flee England. He did not return to England until 1689, when James II had been removed from power. It only took one year until he published his most important work: An Essay Concerning
If he also bartered away plums that would have rotted in a week, for nuts that would last good for his eating a whole year, he did no injury; he wasted not the common stock; destroyed no part of the portion of goods that belonged to others, so long as nothing perished uselessly in his hands (Locke, 1689). This quotation indicates that the author believes that a technique such as bartering
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