John Locke’s defense of the theory of substance in the first ‘letter’ to Edward Stillingfleet

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2024.1.43963

Keywords:

History of Philosophy, Substance, relative idea, knowledge, skepticism

Abstract

The paper discusses John Locke’s first ‘Letter’ to Edward Stillingfleet and attempts to show the difficulties of his replies to the criticisms of his theory of substance. Section 1 presents what appears to be the heart of Stillingfleet’s attack on his doctrine of substance, the charge that the principles of the Essay ‹almost discard substance from the reasonable part of the world.› The paper defies both of Locke›s replies to this objection: his denials that he is committed to (section 2) the principle that knowledge would depend on the acquisition of clear and distinct ideas and to a sort of skepticism or negative dogmatism concerning the existence of substances (Section 3). Section 4 states that Locke maintains in the ‘Letter’ the tension between an empirical and a rational explanation for the idea of substance as a support or substrate. Finally, section 5 sheds light on Locke’s difficulties in determining the relative character of the idea of substrate.

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Author Biographies

Vinícius França Freitas, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).

Graduated in Philosophy (Bachelor's and Degree) from the Federal University of Uberlândia (2010), Master's degree in Philosophy from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (2012) and PhD in Philosophy (on a joint basis) from the Federal University of Minas Gerais and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (2017). Currently, he works as a post-doctoral resident (PNPD / CAPES) in the Postgraduate Program in Philosophy at UFMG, coordinates the meetings of the Modern Ceticism Group / CPNq in the Philosophy Department of the same institution and co-edits the Revista Estudos Hum(e) anos (ISSN 2177-1006).

Carlota Salgadinho Ferreira, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RJ).

PhD from the Postgraduate Program of the Department of Philosophy at PUC-Rio in 2020, having defended the thesis entitled David Hume's skeptical quasi-realism. Since then, she has worked as an Associate Professor in the same department, teaching undergraduate Philosophy subjects in the same area and others. Develops research in the area of ​​Modern Philosophy, with an emphasis on the issue of the interface between the theories of causality and the existence of the external world with Hume's theory of values ​​(moral and aesthetic), also maintaining an interest in Aristotle, Locke, Malebranche and Kant and its possible connections with Hume. Researcher associated with NUPEM-PUC-Rio/CNPq and the Hume Group UFMG/CNPq.

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Published

2024-06-26

How to Cite

França Freitas, V., & Salgadinho Ferreira, C. (2024). John Locke’s defense of the theory of substance in the first ‘letter’ to Edward Stillingfleet. Veritas (Porto Alegre), 69(1), e43963. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2024.1.43963

Issue

Vol. 69 No. 1 (2024): Single Volume - Continuous flow

Section

Epistemology & Philosophy of Language

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