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JohnLocke'sAnEssayConcerning HumanUnderstanding:The"Bible' oftheEnlightenment KATHARINEM.MORSBERGER JohnLocke'sAnEssayConcerningHumanUnderstanding,withitsradicallynewviewofepistemologyandthewayourperceptionsfunction ,has oftenbeenconsideredthebeginningofeighteenth-centurythoughtandthe modernworld.ItcanbeequallyarguedthattheEssay,firstpublishedin 1690,marksnotonlytheendbuttheculminationoftheseventeenthcentury. Mostnotablyinitsimageryandrhetoric,theEssayitselfisasmuchaprod- uctoftheseventeenthcenturyasitisoftheeighteenth,anintellectualand spiritualjourneyratherthanasystematicphilosophy.Locke,bornin1632 andraisedinaPuritanfamily,broughtthemethodsofintrospectionfamiliar toreadersofspiritualautobiographiesintotherealmofepistemology,using self-inquiryinamuchmorethoroughgoingandpersonalwaythanDescartes haddone.1TheEssaycanbereadasaspiritualautobiographythatattempts constantlytoadaptthespiritualtothe"reasonable,"andalsoattemptstoavoidthespiritualandpoliticaltensionsoftheseventeenthcenturyandre-solvethemintoanapproachthatall"reasonable"mencouldaccept. ReferringtoLocke's"ambiguitiesofkeytermsand...theinnertensions andclashesinhisthought,"PeterH.NidditchpointsoutthatLockeresembles"Bunyan'sMr.Facing-bothways,Mr.Two-tongues,andthe'Water-man, lookingoneway,andRowinganother.'"2Inalikemanner,Locke'simages oflightanddarknesslookbacktothePuritanconflictbetweenGodand Satanforman'ssoul,aswellasforwardtotheenlightenment.The.Essay's 2/MORSBERGER "passionateethicalintensity"(inS.H.Clark'swords)ofintellectualsearch- ingisthusalsoanintensespiritualsearching.3Lockerefractstheclearlight ofrevelationintoanelusiverainbowofmultipleperceptions,andthenat- temptstoreunitetheseperceptions,purifiedof"vainimaginations,"withthe lightofreasonandthelightofGod.Thecentralimageofhumanreason,the "candleoftheLord,"thoughasignificantimagefortheCambridgePlatonists, amongothers,isultimatelyfromProverbs20:27.ThustheEssay'smajor rhetoricalstanceisgroundedinChristiantheology,andaBiblicalsubtext undergirdsthewholethrustofLocke'sargumentsandmetaphors.4 ItisnottheleastoftheEssay'sambiguitiesthatinmanyofitscrucial argumentsitrecallsMilton'sSatan,withhisproudclaimthat"themindisits ownplace."5Notonlytheimagesoflightanddarknessbutthetensionbe- tweenassertionsofthemind'spreeminentroleinunderstandingandorderingtheideasthatcomethroughthesenses ,andofGod'soverarchingauthor- ity,createasenseofaconstantsatanicrebellionbeneaththesurfaceofratio- nality.Thebasicelementsofhumanunderstanding,theideasinthemind, themselveswaverbetween"truth"—absoluterepresentationsofperceived actuality—andmere"chimeras."Theirrational,thedeformed,themisshapen, thefalseimaginationsoftheSchoolmen,thewaywardideasinthehuman mind,constantlyintrudeuponanddistorttheperceptions,themselvesthe onlyinletforhumanknowledge.NancyArmstrongandLeonardTennenhouse suggestthatLocke's"notionofrationalitydependedinsomeprofoundway uponthepresenceoftheirrational,"andthatforhim,"man'sinnateirratio- nality"was"atransparentsecularizationoftheChristiannotionofthesoul."6 Itcouldalsobeasecularizationofthenotionthatthedemonicisnecessaryin ordertodefinethedivine.Thereis,intheEssay,aconstantuneasytension betweenthemind'sdivineanddemonicaspects,betweenimaginationasan aidtointerpretingperceptionandultimatelymakingaleapoffaith,and"imagi- nations"asadelusiveelement,constantlyleadingthemindastrayfromthe "truth."Demonictemptationandthespiritualimagescounteractingitthus becomeapowerfulsubtextfortheEssayitselfandforthe"rational"enlight- enmenttextsandcontextsthatitwassubsequentlytoillumine.Itisdarkness, ifanything,whichisinnateinman,andthereforeaconstantthreatnotonly totheindividualunderstandingbuttothesocialfabric.Lockeconcedesthat apropensitytothedarknessofsinandevilisaprevalenttraitofhumankind, thoughhedoesnotmaintainthatthetendencyisnecessarilyinheritedfrom Adam.7TheunknowableisleftinthehandsofGod,orpossiblyofSatan, whoisstillrecognizedasapowerfulforce. Lockeusesfewimages,buttheoneshedoesusearedecisivefortheway inwhichhepresentshisideas.InBiblicalterminology,the"fountain"often representsGod.IntheEssay,italsobecomesametaphorfortheideasinthe JohnLocke'sEssayConcerningHumanUnderstanding/3 mind,derivedbythesensesfromtheexternalworld.Therearetwo"Foun- tainsofKnowledge"(2.1.2.104),experienceandobservation:experience ismadeupofideas,acquiredbytheperceptionswhichoursensesconvey intoourminds;observationisourownsenseoftheseperceptionsinopera- tion.How,Lockeasks,doesthemind,originallyasblankasa"whitepaper," acquireitsideas?ThoughthisisLocke'sbest-knownimage,itdoesnothave thepervasiveforceconveyedbyhisimagesoflightanddarkness.Allhis majorargumentsareilluminatedbystrikingimagesoflightanddarkness, blindnessandsight. Lockeandhiscontemporarieswerebynomeansthefirsttousethese metaphors,andthoughtheyarenotablyprevalentintheBible,theyare,of course,significantforotherreligions.8Locke'skeyimageoflightrepresents humanreason,butlightisalsoassociatedwithGodandwiththesimple ideaswhichareouronlycertainknowledge,givingtheimageacentrality andauthoritythatresonatesthroughtheentireessay.9Thehumanunder- standingitselfispowerfullycomparedtoadarkcloset: ...externalandinternalSensationaretheonlypassagesIcanfind,of Knowledge,totheUnderstanding.Thesealone,asfarasIcandiscover, aretheWindowsbywhichlightisletintothisdarkroom.For,methinks, theUnderstandingisnotmuchunlikeaClosetwhollyshutfromlight, withonlysomelittleopeningsleft,toletinexternalvisibleResemblances, orIdeasofthingswithout.(2.11.17.162-3) Locke'sterminology,whilethuslookingforwardtotheprevalentequa- tionofreasonandlightintheEnlightenment,alsohasnumerousundertones ofthetraditonalequationofGodwithlightandSatanwithdarkness.Reason is"theCandleoftheLordsetupbyhimselfinMen'sminds"(4.3.20.552). Godisreferredtoas"theFatherofLights"(4.19.11.703).10Ignoranceis the"darkside"ofourknowledge:thingsbeyondourunderstandingareinan "AbyssofDarkness"("where,"literalizingaBiblicalmetaphor,"wehave notEyestosee,norFacultiestoperceiveanything")(4.3.22.553)."Error, inparticulartheerrorofenthusiasm,isfalselight,associatedwithfalsereasoning ,falsereligion,andultimatelywithSatan,thePrinceofDarkness,the "SonoftheMorning,"whocan"transformhimselfintoanAngelofLight" (4.19.13.704)andwhoisalsoknownas"Lucifer,"the"light-bearer." Satanhimselfthusisattheshiftingboundarybetweenthelightofanin- structedandenlightenedperceptionandthedarkareaswherereasoncannot andshouldnotattempttopenetrate.Inalikemanner,Godisattheboundary betweentheknowledgeilluminatedbythe"candle"ofreasonandtheblaz- ingsunoffullknowledge,tobeattainedonlybyaleapoffaith.12Lockeoften referstoGodinfairlyabstractterms:"infinitelywiseAgent"(4.3.28.559), 4/MORSBERGER "WiseArchitect"(IV.iii.29.560),"faithfulCreator"(2.4.14.570).Nor doesLockeemphasizeChrist,thoughhedoesreferbrieflyto"OurSaviour" andalsotoSt.Paul.13 Lockehimselfmadeatranslationofandcommentaryonseveralofthe Paulineepistles;hereandelsewhereheemphasizestheintelligentman'sob- ligationtodevelophisfaithinproportiontohisotherintellectualcapacities. GretchenGrafPahl,amongothers,maintainsthatLocke'sanalysisis"one ofthegreatlandmarksinthehistoryofBiblicalcriticism,"amongthefirstto recognizetheinfluenceofthe"historicalandlogicalcontextsoftheBible" andtheroleofPaul'srhetoricalandliteraryimagination.14Yet,forallhis emphasisontheEpistles,inTheReasonablenessofChristianityLockemain- tainsthat"'tisnotintheepistleswearetolearnwhatarethefundamental articlesoffaith,wheretheyarepromiscuously,andwithoutdistinctionmixed withothertruths....Weshallfindanddiscernthosegreatandnecessary pointsbestinthepreachingofOurSaviourandtheapostles,tothosewho wereyetstrangers,andignorantofthefaith,tobringthemin,andconvert themtoit."15ForLocke,theBibleisdefinitelyatextforadults,onetowhich youngandimmaturestudentsshouldnotbeexposed,exceptforcarefully selectedpassages.16Theultimategoalofhumanreasonandknowledgeisto prepareustoliveworthilyinthelightofGod'sfuturejudgment.Reason, God,andthefewraysofone'scertainknowledgeareallthatkeepusfrom thedarknessandthevoidofignoranceorofvainimaginationsandconjec- tures,andfromthepursuitoffalselighttotheultimateSatanicdarkness,a darknessthatisnotonlyvisiblebutanever-presentthreat.Forfalsereason- ing,dangerouslyakintoSatanicimaginations,Lockeusesthegraphically disturbingimageofamanwhoputsouthisowneyes,thebettertosee.Lit- eralblindness,usedasanillustrationforexplainingtheworkingsofsense perception,becomesametaphorforintellectualandspiritualblindness,most powerfullyattheEssay'sclimax. OneofSatan'smainattributesisdelusiveandseductivelanguage.But Lockehimself,notablyinBook4oftheEssay,isnotmore"strip'dofthe Metaphorofseeingandfeeling"(4.19.9.700)thantheenthusiastswhose assertions,heclaims,aresofalsewhenthuslaidbare.17Recognizingthe unreliabilityofwords(3.5.16.438),Lockedevotesanentirebookofthe Essaytothenatureandusesoflanguage.Languageisvitaltocommunica- tion,butwordsmeandifferentthingstodifferentpeople(3.5.8.432-3). Eventhosewholiveinthesamecountry"havebutveryimperfectdescrip- tionsofThings,andWordshaveveryuncertainSignifications"(3.9.17. 486).Further,itisabsolutelynecessaryforpeopletoagreeonreferentsfor words,"whentheyspeakofThingsreallyexisting"(3.6.29.456),orcom- municationwillbeatbestinaccurateandatworstimpossible. JohnLocke'sEssayConcerningHumanUnderstanding/5 Often,especiallyinBiblicalcommentary,menarelikelytouse"acurious andunexplicableWebofperplexedWords"(3.10.8.494),creatingan"ar- tificialLanguage,andlearnedGibberish,"whichleavesreaders"perpetu- allyentangledinthatendlessLabyrinth"(3.10.9.495).Locke'slanguage andcontextarereminiscentofMilton'sdescriptionofthefallenangels,wran- glingovertheologyand"inwand'ringmazeslost"(2.561.245).Though men,especiallySchoolmen,mayinventjargonastheyplease,"yetifthey willbeunderstood,whentheyspeakofThingsreallyexisting,theymust,in somedegree,conformtheirIdeastotheThingstheywouldspeakof:OrElse Men'sLanguagewillbelikethatofBabel;andeveryMan'sWords... intelligibleonlytohimself(3.6.29.456).Babel,inBiblicalterms,isa mythfortheequationofsinwithlossoflanguage,communication,andbreak- downofthesocialorder.Presumablythe"innerworkingsofourspirits," then,mustalsoconformtotheneedforacommonlanguageandcommunica- tion,eventhoughthese"workings"maywellbethesourceof,oridenticalto, individualinnervisionandimagination.Clearcommunicationisespecially importantforquestionsofreligion,law,andmorality,allofwhicharebased ontextswhicharethemselvesopentoconsiderablemisinterpretation.Locke's concernforfreedomfromjargonandfromthe"curiousandunexplicable WebofperplexedWords,"andhiscautionsagainstthecoiningofnewwords (3.10.8.494)werethusbasedonpoliticalaswellastheologicalandepiste- mologicalconsiderations.Bydefinition,languageandstylebecomeanindi- cation,orevenaproof,ofthewriter'sorspeaker'struthfulness.Obscure languageisautomaticallysuspectedoffalsehood. Lockeadvocatedreligioustoleration,but,farfromdevaluingtheBible's roleinfaith,included,indeedemphasized,theinterpretationofScripturein thelightofbothfaithandreason.Norshouldonebetoohastytojudgeoth- ers'interpretations.For"wholesocietiesofmen"areunlikelytohave"so universalaperverseness;someatleastmust...pursuetruthsincerely;and thereforetheremustbesomethingthatblindstheirunderstandings"(2.33. 18.400).InAmsterdam,Lockeobservedthatwheretolerationwaspractised therewascivicpeace,order,andprosperity.18Notsocoincidentally,itwas therethathefirstbegantostudyScriptureindepth.LadyMashamwroteto him(8October1684):"IcannotbutFanciebyyourLetterthatyouhave learntmoreScripturetheretheneveryouKnewinyourwholelifebefore, whomIlittlethoughtoncewouldeverhavewrittmealetternottobeunder- stoodwithoutturningtoStPaul,andStPetersEpistles"(Correspondence2. 64O).19 Paradoxically,Locke'ssearchforclarityleadshimtointuitionandulti- matelytofaith,sincetheknowledgeofwhichwecanbecertainislimited. Knowledgemaybe"proved"and"demonstrated,"butthesemeasuresfall 6/MORSBERGER shortof"thatevidentlustreandfullassurance,thatalwaysaccompanythat whichIcallintuitive"(4.2.6.533)Intuition,theimmediateapprehensionof theperceivedobject,"leavesnoroomforHesitation,Doubt,orExamina- tion,buttheMindispresentlyfilledwiththeclearlightofit"(2.1.1.531). Lockeplacesintuitiononanequallevelwithdemonstratedknowledge,and "whatevercomesshortofoneofthese,withwhatassurancesoeverembraced, isbutFaith,orOpinion,butnotKnowledge,atleastinallgeneralTruths" (4.2.14.537).("Faith"herereferstotheenthusiasts'"false"beliefs.) Unfortunately,thetruthsofgeometryaremuchmoreeasilydemonstrated thanthoseofmorality.Lockedidnotsucceedinconstructingalogicalproof formoralprinciples,and,asaresult,defined"truth"simplyas"thejoining orseparatingofSigns,astheThingssignifiedbythemdoagreeordis- agreeonewithanother"(4.5.2.574),andapplicableonlytopropositions. Moralprinciples,forexample,"requireReasoningandDiscourse,andsome ExerciseoftheMind,todiscoverthecertaintyoftheirTruth"(1.3.1.66). However,iftheminditself,ortheconscience,whichisevidentlysomewhat separatefromthemind,controlsour"OpinionorJudgmentoftheMoral RectitudeorPravityofourownActions"(1.3.8.70),agreatchasmof relativemoralitybecomesevident.Lockeillustratesthedilemmawithex- amplesfromprimitiveculturestothecustomofdueling,inwhich"Murders...

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