Locke and the God

¶ … God

Locke in his argument that God must be a thinking being starts off by outlining an idea that "all matter, every particle of matter, thinks" he explicitly puts it that "matter as matter is cognitive" Locke bases this argument in the assumption that not only does every particle thinks, but every particle is eternal and thinking in the manner that at least one of them has supposedly been proved to be" he adds ". . . then there would be as many eternal thinking beings as there are particles of matter, and so an in-nity of Gods." His writings point at the fact that every bit of matter is eternal and thinks. Moreover, the reasoning that there is a common source for all the thought in the universe is impossible since it has always been equally distributed all over the world. Locke contends that if this is the way things are and not as god's possession, the conclusion would be that there is no god.

In addition, Locke examines the possibility of God as a single 'cogitative' atom. He argues that since all the other things come from an atom, there exists a "creation of matter by a powerful thought, which is that the materialists stick at." He also argues that all atoms are eternal, but only one is cognitive and that one is God. He states that "… is without any the least appearance of reason to frame any hypotheses apparently meaning that it is too obviously absurd to be worth discussing." On this point he claims that "Every particle of matter, as matter, is capable of all the same ?gures and motions of any other; and I challenge any one, in his thoughts, to add anything else to one above another."

Immaterial God

Locke in his delivery on the physical nature of God holds that God is immaterial. He out rightly opposes any idea that God is material, but agrees that God is an eternal knowing being. He writes, 'Let it be so; it equally still follows that there is a GOD. For if there be an eternal, omniscient, omnipotent being, it is certain that there is a GOD, whether you imagine that Being to be material or no." He also states that "It only remains that it is some certain system of matter duly put together that is this thinking eternal being." To further this argument, Locke eludes that it is impossible for this "certain system's" operations to be guided by the thoughts of any designer or guardian. Therefore the "system" must be the originator of all mentalities in the universe. The reasoning here being, that the guardians then result from the working of the system.

In addition, he alludes that it is impossible for man to be the only knowing and wise being, a product of ignorance and chance. He writes, "If it be the motion of its parts on which its thinking depends, all the thoughts there must be unavoidably accidental and limited; since all the particles that by motion cause thought, being each of them in itself without any thought, cannot regulate its own motions…" This argument goes further to state that, "…So that such a thinking being will be no better nor wiser than pure blind matter; since to resolve all into the accidental unguided motions of blind matter, or into thought depending on unguided motions of blind matter, is the same thing; not to mention the narrowness of such thoughts and knowledge that must depend on the motion of such parts." Locke here means that there exist orderliness and that thought must possess it. The notion further suggests that this anything that it is impossible for anything that possesses this orderliness to be a result of something without it. Moreover, there are no movements matter can have without the guidance by thought.