¶ … John Locke. There is one reference used for this paper.

There have been a number of theories which have influenced the field of psychology. It is interesting to examine John Locke's theory of knowledge and its influence on modern psychology.

Theory of Knowledge

John Locke's theory of knowledge "asserted that at birth the human mind is simply a blank receptacle awaiting its bombardment by sense data coming from outside the human body. This data in turn triggers the operation of the mind -- which he conceived basically as a machine designed to manipulate the data into structures called ideas. Some ideas are fairly simple and straightforward, such as hot, red, loud, sweet, putrid -- rather direct fed by the senses, while other ideas are more complex and require the mind to manipulate this data along more complicated structural lines -- of categories, of cause and effect relationships, of complex logical relationships (www.newgenevacenter.org/biography/locke2.htm)." The mind is able to learn and mature due to these experiences.

Locke's theory concerning the way a person learns about the world in which she or he lives is supported and reinforced by many of today's studies in psychology.

Locke believed that "there was no such thing as innate ideas which we are born with and which come into action as we mediate on them, which had previously been the classic understanding of how a person came to know their world (www.newgenevacenter.org/biography/locke2.htm)."

Modern psychologists can interpret Locke's theory of knowledge to imply that "ideas arise from external stimuli -- not from sources internal to the human mind (www.newgenevacenter.org/biography/locke2.htm)."

Conclusion

Although John Locke lived during the 17th century, his theory of knowledge is still utilized by many modern psychologists today.

References

John Locke. (accessed 23 February 2005). www.newgenevacenter.org/biography/locke2.htm).