An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 2: MDCXC, Based on the 2nd Edition, Books 3 and 4
John Locke · en
First, Those whose agreement or disagreement, though it cannot be seen
by an immediate putting them together, yet may be examined by the
intervention of other ideas which can be compared with them. In this
case, when the agreement or disagreement of the intermediate idea, on
both sides, with those which we would compare, is PLAINLY DISCERNED:
there it amounts to DEMONSTRATION whereby knowledge is produced, which,
though it be certain, yet it is not so easy, nor altogether so clear
as intuitive knowledge. Because in that there is barely one simple
intuition, wherein there is no room for any the least mistake or doubt:
the truth is seen all perfectly at once. In demonstration, it is true,
there is intuition too, but not altogether at once; for there must be
a remembrance of the intuition of the agreement of the medium, or
intermediate idea, with that we compared it with before, when we compare
it with the other: and where there be many mediums, there the danger of
the mistake is the greater. For each agreement or disagreement of the
ideas must be observed and seen in each step of the whole train, and
retained in the memory, just as it is; and the mind must be sure that
no part of what is necessary to make up the demonstration is omitted or
overlooked. This makes some demonstrations long and perplexed, and too
hard for those who have not strength of parts distinctly to perceive,
and exactly carry so many particulars orderly in their heads. And even
those who are able to master such intricate speculations, are fain
sometimes to go over them again, and there is need of more than one
review before they can arrive at certainty. But yet where the mind
clearly retains the intuition it had of the agreement of any idea with
another, and that with a third, and that with a fourth, &c., there the
agreement of the first and the fourth is a demonstration, and produces
certain knowledge; which may be called RATIONAL KNOWLEDGE, as the other
is intuitive.
16. Secondly, to supply the narrowness of Demonstrative and Intuitive
Knowledge we have nothing but Judgment upon probable reasoning.
Secondly, There are other ideas, whose agreement or disagreement can no
otherwise be judged of but by the intervention of others which have not
a certain agreement with the extremes, but an USUAL or LIKELY one:
and in these is that the JUDGMENT is properly exercised; which is the
acquiescing of the mind, that any ideas do agree, by comparing them with
such probable mediums. This, though it never amounts to knowledge,
no, not to that which is the lowest degree of it; yet sometimes the
intermediate ideas tie the extremes so firmly together, and the
probability is so clear and strong, that ASSENT as necessarily follows
it, as KNOWLEDGE does demonstration. The great excellency and use of the
judgment is to observe right, and take a true estimate of the force and
weight of each probability; and then casting them up all right together,
choose that side which has the overbalance.