After coming off of Descartes and his many methods and meditations, Locke's approaches to philosophy were a welcome relief. Locke's writings, while still complex, were much easier to grasp.
The part that spoke to me the most, was when the philosopher wrote, "It is of great use to the sailor to know the length of his line, though he cannot with it fathom all the depths of the ocean. It is well that it is long enough to reach the bottom, at such places as are necessary to direct his voyage, and caution him against running upon shoals that may ruin him."
While at first glace this cute tale may seem like a mere short story, it is in reality a deep analogy.
Locke is essentially telling us, that it is right and proper for us all to keep a record of exactly how much we know. However, even though our knowledge may be vast, it still cannot even begin to penetrate the "depths of the ocean." All of the mind-boggling, twisted, and confusing information and questions our humans brains simply cannot even begin to figure-out or attempt to answer.
Still, Locke continues by saying, that there are some areas where our knowledge can reach the bottom of the sea. In these instances, we as humans have somehow managed to acquire enough information regarding a certain topic, so that we basically know all there currently is to know about that particular discussion. However, most often times the only reason why we even care to collect this much information, is so we don't run into the shallows and get ourselves stuck in the muck! We learn as much as we can, so that we can avoid the rough patches and the areas we know we don't want to end-up trapped in.
Locke does an excelent job of explaining, that we as humans will never reach a point in time where we have finally figured everything out. God didn't create us to be as smart or as All-Knowing as Himself. He created us to be intelligent, yes, but only to a certain extent.
There are instances when you can practically feel your mental limitations. Such feelings often occur when we try to figure-out what we're going to do after God defeats Satan and his demonic army for good and we as Christians get to live with Him for the rest of eternity. When we start to think about living for all eternity, our minds almost shut-down, not wanting to have to puzzle-out that confusing, timeless concept!
I love how Locke demonstrates all of this in such a short, sailor analogy! His writing was the perfect example of using something simple and bland to demonstrate something wise and intellectually revealing.
Edit - Replied to Rachael Gregson and Drew Hedden.
The part that spoke to me the most, was when the philosopher wrote, "It is of great use to the sailor to know the length of his line, though he cannot with it fathom all the depths of the ocean. It is well that it is long enough to reach the bottom, at such places as are necessary to direct his voyage, and caution him against running upon shoals that may ruin him."
While at first glace this cute tale may seem like a mere short story, it is in reality a deep analogy.
Locke is essentially telling us, that it is right and proper for us all to keep a record of exactly how much we know. However, even though our knowledge may be vast, it still cannot even begin to penetrate the "depths of the ocean." All of the mind-boggling, twisted, and confusing information and questions our humans brains simply cannot even begin to figure-out or attempt to answer.
Still, Locke continues by saying, that there are some areas where our knowledge can reach the bottom of the sea. In these instances, we as humans have somehow managed to acquire enough information regarding a certain topic, so that we basically know all there currently is to know about that particular discussion. However, most often times the only reason why we even care to collect this much information, is so we don't run into the shallows and get ourselves stuck in the muck! We learn as much as we can, so that we can avoid the rough patches and the areas we know we don't want to end-up trapped in.
Locke does an excelent job of explaining, that we as humans will never reach a point in time where we have finally figured everything out. God didn't create us to be as smart or as All-Knowing as Himself. He created us to be intelligent, yes, but only to a certain extent.
There are instances when you can practically feel your mental limitations. Such feelings often occur when we try to figure-out what we're going to do after God defeats Satan and his demonic army for good and we as Christians get to live with Him for the rest of eternity. When we start to think about living for all eternity, our minds almost shut-down, not wanting to have to puzzle-out that confusing, timeless concept!
I love how Locke demonstrates all of this in such a short, sailor analogy! His writing was the perfect example of using something simple and bland to demonstrate something wise and intellectually revealing.
Edit - Replied to Rachael Gregson and Drew Hedden.
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