Georges Dicker Bücher

Georges Dicker here provides a commentary on John Locke's masterwork, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding-the foundational work of classical Empiricism. Dicker's commentary is an accessible guide for students who are reading Locke for the first time; a useful research tool for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students; and a contribution to Locke scholarship for professional scholars. It is designed to be read alongside the Essay, but does not presuppose familiarity with it.Dicker expounds and critically discusses the main theses and arguments of each of the Essay's four books, on the innatism that Locke opposes, the origin and classification of ideas, language and meaning, and knowledge, respectively. He analyses Locke's influential explorations of related topics, including primary and secondary qualities, substance, identity, personal identity, free will, nominal and real essences, perception, and external-world skepticism, among others. Written in an analytical style that strives for clarity, the book offers careful textual analyses as well as step-by-step reconstructions of Locke's arguments, and it references and engages with relevant work of other major philosophers and Locke commentators.

The book explores the problem of perception and the sense-datum theory, developed from lectures on epistemology. The initial chapters stem from academic teachings at SUNY College, while the manuscript was completed during a fellowship at Brown University. The author acknowledges the contributions of students and colleagues who provided valuable feedback, enhancing the work's depth. This collaborative effort reflects a rich intellectual exchange, highlighting the importance of community in academic research and the evolution of philosophical ideas.