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An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (Penguin Classics)

By: John Locke
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
ISBN: 0140434828
ISBN-13: 9780140434828
Released: 26 Jun 1997
RRP: £9.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Full version - By: Ben Saunders, 22 Sep 2002
I won't go into the depths of Locke studies here. Suffice to say he was the first of the 'British Empiricists'; building on Descartes' ideas & beginning an epistemology that influenced Berkely, Hume & many others. The Essay is a (very) lengthy account of his ideas - in which he begins by denying the possibility of innate ideas & goes on to explain how we come by alll our ideas, discussing on the way his influential ideas on personal identity & primary & secondary qualities.

If you want the best scholarly version, it's undoubtedly Nidditch's Clarendon Press one. This version doesn't offer so much in the way of notes; but it has a basic introduction, original spelling & IMPORTANT: is the cheapest unabridged version of the Essay I've come across.

Complete - By: Ben Saunders, 21 Sep 2002
I won't go into the depths of Locke studies here. Suffice to say he was the first of the 'British Empiricists'; building on Descartes' ideas & beginning an epistemology that influenced Berkely, Hume & many others. The Essay is a (very) lengthy account of his ideas - in which he begins by denying the possibility of innate ideas & goes on to explain how we come by alll our ideas, discussing on the way his influential ideas on personal identity & primary & secondary qualities.

If you want the best scholarly version, it's undoubtedly this - Nidditch's Clarendon Press one, which has become the standard for academics. Granted, you can pick up an unabridged version for half as much (Penguin Classics). All this reallly has to offer is tons of extra notes - including biography & (very) full textual notes (most of which the average reader will NEVER need). All the same, it is the leading edition for study....

Warning: Abridged - By: Ben Saunders, 21 Sep 2002
I won't go into the depths of Locke studies here. Suffice to say he was the first of the 'British Empiricists'; building on Descartes' ideas & beginning an epistemology that influenced Berkely, Hume & many others. The Essay is a (very) lengthy account of his ideas - in which he begins by denying the possibility of innate ideas & goes on to explain how we come by alll our ideas, discussing on the way his influential ideas on personal identity & primary & secondary qualities.

The problem that the essay has is that it's over-long (at about 800 pages) & filled with rambling repetition. Not actuallly amnaging to get through it alll myself, I thought this abridged version might contain the highlights as it were... Well, if you have only a passing interest, this book is cheap & does set out Locke's main ideas without much repetition. For serious study, however, I'd invest a bit more for an unabridged copy (the cheapest I think is Penguin Classics; the best the one edited by Nidditch)