An essay concerning humane understanding ... / written by John Locke.

  • John Locke
Date:
1695
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay concerning humane understanding ... / written by John Locke. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    70/474 (page 20)
    No innate ‘Practical 'Principles. Book I. This is enough to fatisfie us, that no practical Rule, which is any w here univerfally, and with publick Approbation, or Allowance, tranlgrefled, can be fuppofed innate. But I have lomething farther to add, in Anfwer to this Obje&ion. §.ix. The breaking of a Rule, fay you, is no Argument, that it is un¬ known. I grant it: But the generally allowed breach of it any where, I fay, is a Proof \ that it is not innate. For Example,Let us take any of thefe Rules; which being the mod: obvious deductions of Humane Reafon, and conformable to the natural Inclination of the greatefi part of Men, feweft People have had the Impudence to deny, or Inconfideratien to doubt of If any can be thought to be naturally imprinted, none, I think, can have a fairer pretence to be innate, than this; Parents preferveand cherifh your Children. When therefore you fay, That this is an innate Rule, What do you mean? Either, that it is an innate Principle; which upon all Oc- cafions, excites and directs the Actions of all Men : Or elle, that it is a Truth which ail Men have imprinted on their Minds, and which there¬ fore they know, and aflent to. But in neither of thefe Senfes is it innate. Fir(l, That it is not a Principle, which influences all Men’s Aft ions, is, what I have proved by the Examples before cited : Nor need we feek fo far as Mingrelia or Peru, to find infiances of fuch as negled, abufe, nay and deftroy their Children; or look on it only as the more than Bruta¬ lity of fome falvage and barbarous Nations, when we remember, that it was a familiar, and uncondemned Pracfitfeamongft the Greeks.and Romans, to expole, without pity or remorfe, their innocent Infants. Secondly, That it is an innate Truth, known to all Men, is alfo falle. For, Parents prejerve your Children, is 16 far from an innate Truth, that it is no Truth at all; it being a Command, and not a Propofition, and 16 not capable of Truth or Fallhood. To make it capable of being aflented to as true, it mull be reduced to fome fiich Propofition as this : It is the Duty of Pa¬ rents to preferve their Children. But what Duty is, cannot be underflood without a Law; nor a Law be known, or fuppofed without a Law-ma¬ ker, or without Reward and Punilhment. So that it is impoflible, that this, or any other practical Principle lhould be innate; /. e. be imprinted on the Mind as a Duty, without fuppofing the Ideas of God, of Law, of Obligation, of Punilhment, of a Life after this, innate. For that Punilh¬ ment follows not, in this Life, the breach of this Rule; and confequently, that it has not the Force of a Law in Countries, where the generally al¬ low’d Practice runs counter to ir, is in it lelf evident. But thefe Ideas (which mull be all of them innate, if any thing as a Duty be 16) are La far from being innate, that ’tis not every fiudious or thinking Man, much lefs every one that is born, in whom they are to be found clear and di- fiin6t: And that one of them, which of all others leems molt likely to be innate, is not 16, (I mean the Idea of God) I think, in the next Chap¬ ter, will appear very evident to any confidering Man. Wboit Nations §. 13. From what hasbeenfaid, I think we may fafelv conclude. That, Moral fRules, whatever practical Rule is, in any Place, generally,and with allowance,broken, cannot be fuppofed innate, it being impoflible, that Men lhould, without Shame or Fear, confidently and lerenely break a Rule, which they could not but evidently know, that God had let up, and would certainly pu- nilh the breach of (which they mull if it were innate) to a degree to make it a Very ill Bargain to the Tranfgreflor. Without fuch a Knowledge as this, a Man can never be certain, that anything is his Duty. Ignorance or Doubt of the Law; hopes to efcape the Knowledge or Power of the Law-maker, or the like, may make Men give way to a prelent Appetite .- But \ ■