Empiricists: A Guide for the Perplexed Book

Preface ix

1 Introduction: The Empiricists and Their Context 1

1.1 Empiricism and the Empiricists 1

1.2 The Intellectual Background to the Early Modern Empiricists 3

1.2.1 Martin Luther and the Reformation 4

1.2.2 Aristotelian cosmology and the Scientific Revolution 5

1.2.3 Aristotelian/Scholastic hylomorphism and the rise of mechanism 7

1.2.4 The Royal Society of London 11

2 Francis Bacon (1561-1626) 13

2.1 The Natural Realm: The Idols of the Mind 14

2.1.1 Idols of the Tribe 15

2.1.2 Idols of the Cave 17

2.1.3 Idols of the Marketplace 19

2.1.4 Idols of the Theatre 21

2.2 Knowledge and Experience: Induction Introduced 23

2.2.1 Aristotelian/Scholastic syllogisms: deductions dismissed 23

2.2.2 Baconian empiricism: induction introduced 24

2.3 Conclusion: Bacon the Empiricist 28

3 Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) 30

3.1 The Natural Realm: Hobbes's Materialistic Mechanism 31

3.1.1 The importance of motion 32

3.1.2 Sensation and the mind 35

3.2 Knowledge and Experience: Definitions and the Euclidean Method 41

3.2.1 Two kinds of knowledge and proper ratiocination 41

3.2.2 The method of analysis and the method of synthesis 43

3.3 Conclusion: Hobbes the Empiricist 48

4 Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655) 50

4.1 The Natural Realm: Gassendi's Atomism 51

4.1.1 The basic principles of Gassendi's atomism 51

4.1.2 Atomistic sensation 55

4.2 Knowledge and Experience: The 'Middle Way' to Knowledge 57

4.2.1 The sceptics are partly correct 57

4.2.2 Knowledge regained? 59

4.3 Conclusion: Gassendi the Empiricist 61

5 Robert Boyle (1627-1691) 62

5.1 The Natural Realm: Boyle's Mechanism('Corpuscularianism') 64

5.1.1 The basic principles of Boyle's mechanism (or 'corpscularianism') 65

5.1.2 Sensation and the mind 70

5.2 Knowledge and Experience: Mechanism and the Cautious Experimenter 72

5.2.1 The excellency of mechanism 72

5.2.2 Experimentation and the status of mechanism 76

5.3 Conclusion: Boyle the Empiricist 77

6 John Locke (1632-1704) 78

6.1 The Natural Realm: Locke's Mechanism 81

6.1.1 Against innatism 82

6.1.2 Ideas and the Tabula Rasa 86

6.1.3 Primary and secondary qualities, and our confused idea of substance 88

6.1.4 Locke on power 94

6.2 Knowledge and Experience: Locke's Epistemology 96

6.2.1 Indirect realism, or the representational theory of perception 97

6.2.2 The certainty of knowledge 99

6.2.3 The origin of knowledge 102

6.2.4 The extent of knowledge 106

6.3 Conclusion: Locke the Empiricist 110

7 Isaac Newton (1642-1727) 112

7.1 The Natural Realm: Newton's Principia 115

7.1.1 A world of forces: universal gravitation 116

7.1.2 What kind of quality is gravity? 117

7.1.3 Mechanism and action at a distance 121

7.2 Knowledge and Experience: Rules for the Study of Natural Philosophy 123

7.2.1 The four rules 123

7.2.2 Whither natural philosophy? 125

7.3 Conclusion: Newton the Empiricist 126

8 George Berkeley (1685-1753) 128

8.1 The Natural Realm: Berkeley's Idealism 130

8.1.1 The world contains only souls and ideas 130

8.1.2 Esse est percipi: two arguments for idealism/immaterialism 133

8.1.3 Against the primary/secondary quality distinction 137

8.2 Knowledge and Experience: Berkeley's Common Sense Epistemology 139

8.2.1 Against the representational theory of perception 139

8.2.2 Defeating the sceptic, and returning to common sense 143

8.2.3 Mechanism, Newtonianism and instrumentalism: Berkeley on the new science 144

8.2.4 Responses to popular objections 150

8.3 Conclusion: Berkeley the Empiricist 153

9 David Hume (1711-1776) 155

9.1 The Natural Realm: Hume's Psychological Approach 157

9.1.1 Impressions and ideas 158

9.1.2 The principles of association 160

9.2 Knowledge and Experience: Hume's Semi-Scepticism 161

9.2.1 Relations of ideas vs. matters of fact 161

9.2.2 From matters of fact to cause and effect: Hume's first question 163

9.2.3 Knowledge of cause and effect: Hume's second question 164

9.2.4 The problem of induction: Hume's third question 170

9.2.5 Hume's positive account of causation: induction regained? 174

9.3 Conclusion: Hume the Empiricist 177

10 Empiricism and the Empiricists: Summary and Conclusion 178

Bibliography 181

Index 185