An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 1: MDCXC, Based on the 2nd Edition, Books 1 and 2Locke, John
Philosophy
An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 1: MDCXC, Based on the 2nd Edition, Books 1 and 2
Locke, John
Knowledge, Theory of -- Early works to 1800
Thirdly, Sometimes the foundation of considering things with reference
to one another, is some act whereby any one comes by a moral right,
power, or obligation to do something. Thus, a general is one that hath
power to command an army, and an army under a general is a collection
of armed men obliged to obey one man. A citizen, or a burgher, is one
who has a right to certain privileges in this or that place. All this
sort depending upon men’s wills, or agreement in society, I call
INSTITUTED, or VOLUNTARY; and may be distinguished from the natural, in
that they are most, if not all of them, some way or other alterable,
and separable from the persons to whom they have sometimes belonged,
though neither of the substances, so related, be destroyed. Now, though
these are all reciprocal, as well as the rest, and contain in them a
reference of two things one to the other; yet, because one of the two
things often wants a relative name, importing that reference, men
usually take no notice of it, and the relation is commonly overlooked:
v. g. a patron and client are easily allowed to be relations, but a
constable or dictator are not so readily at first hearing considered as
such. Because there is no peculiar name for those who are under the
command of a dictator or constable, expressing a relation to either of
them; though it be certain that either of them hath a certain power
over some others, and so is so far related to them, as well as a patron
is to his client, or general to his army.
4. Ideas of Moral relations.
Fourthly, There is another sort of relation, which is the conformity or
disagreement men’s VOLUNTARY ACTIONS have to a RULE to which they are
referred, and by which they are judged of; which, I think, may be
called MORAL RELATION, as being that which denominates our moral
actions, and deserves well to be examined; there being no part of
knowledge wherein we should be more careful to get determined ideas,
and avoid, as much as may be, obscurity and confusion. Human actions,
when with their various ends, objects, manners, and circumstances, they
are framed into distinct complex ideas, are, as has been shown, so many
MIXED MODES, a great part whereof have names annexed to them. Thus,
supposing gratitude to be a readiness to acknowledge and return
kindness received; polygamy to be the having more wives than one at
once: when we frame these notions thus in our minds, we have there so
many determined ideas of mixed modes. But this is not all that concerns
our actions: it is not enough to have determined ideas of them, and to
know what names belong to such and such combinations of ideas. We have
a further and greater concernment, and that is, to know whether such
actions, so made up, are morally good or bad.
5. Moral Good and Evil.
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