Mind and Matter
Mind and Matter
This chapter describes Locke's conception of immaterial substance, and his arguments against materialism. Though Locke is committed to the view that there are immaterial substances, he allows that we might be wholly material. He holds that for all we can tell God might add powers of thought to material substances, just as He gives bodies other powers that we cannot understand as arising from the nature of matter, including powers to produce to ideas in us and powers of mutual attraction. Locke also explains cohesion and the laws of motion as due to God's arbitrary will. This does not commit him to occasionalism, but does show that he is not committed to mechanism.
Keywords: mind, matter, materialism, thought, gravitation, cohesion, mechanism
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