Reyes, Franco Angelo G.

Final Period- Activity 1

3BSC6A- Great Books

1. What is the philosophical method? Have you ever applied the method to an issue
in your life? If so, how did you use it? If not devise an example to show how the
method could be used to shed light on a serious question.

❖ The Philosophical Method is the description and study on how to do Philosophy,

Sciences and Arts. Philosophical Method is also established through logical
reasoning, synthesis or analysis and induction. I use philosophical method by
applying it to my personal life specifically in serious matters which includes but not
limited to solving issues and problems because as a logical person, it is a habit of
mine to ask questions like “how can I resolve or rid my issues and problems?” and
“why do I always experience these kinds of problems?”. The purpose of
philosophical method is to question ourselves so that we may get deeper and
deeper by trying to find a better solution or alternative to the problems in which we
are in.

2. Based on your previous activity, what reasons does John Locke give for
rejecting the notion of innate ideas? (10 points)

❖ As stated by Sir John Locke, human beings have mental content which is innate
in the mind. This means that there are ideas which were acquired to life
experiences. Locke also imparts to us that the mind is a “tabula rasa”, a Latin
phrase which means “blank slate”. This is the theory which states that individuals
are born without built in mental content, and therefore all knowledge comes from
personal experiences or first-hand perceptions of the person. This is the reason
why Locke rejected the idea of Descartes because he claims that there are three
innate ideas such as the idea of God. The idea of the body and the idea of the
mind. Descartes and Locke are contradicting one another due to the fact that
Descartes yields the belief that we (human beings) cannot believe our senses
therefore, begins to question our own existence and that, we cannot know what is
real. On the other hand, Locke argues that nothing is innate and that, knowledge
is acquired by our senses.