John Locke and uncertainty about perception of the world:
Background: The accuracy and reliability of perception is a problem for Locke because of primary and secondary qualities. Primary qualities are really properties of the thing perceived, but secondary qualities are not; they are only ways the object affects us. This is really what they are, material things with material properties. Anything else about how they appear must be based simply on their shape, size, and composition.
The assignment:
Outline the distinction between primary and secondary qualities discussed on page 154 ? 156 (paragraphs 8 to 16). From the book The Quest For Truth Fifth edition by Louis P. Pojman. Discuss briefly what that means we really know about objects we sense, and what we normally think we know but don?t. Choose a simple example of a perceived object and distinguish between its primary and its secondary qualities. Conclude with one paragraph on your own opinion on whether Locke?s position on secondary qualities seems reasonable.
