An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 164
Machine transcription. Not an edition. Errors are expected: about 8% character error rate on Latin and French lines, higher on German. Mean line confidence on this page: 0.92.
Original at the GWLB · Page image · Annotations (IIIF) · Download text
The machine reads it as
- Distinct and Confused lubas.
- or else a ealness inthe pemory, not able co retain them as receivec
- For to return again to visible Objects, eo help us to apprehend this mat.
- ter. IFthe Organs, or Faculties oF Perception, like Wax over- hardned wirh
- Cold, Wrill noc receive the Imprection of ihe Scal, trom the ulual impulle
- ont to imprint it; or, lile Wax of a cempertoo solr, will not holdit vell,
- Wrtren Well imprinted; or esse suppoling the Wax oF a temper Ac, buethe
- Seal not applied ich a sufficient force, to make a clear imprestion: In
- any ofthele cales, the print lest by the Scal, will be obscure. This Tsux.
- Pole, nceds no application to matce it plainer.
- 6. 4. A5 a Clear Idea is that Whereot the Mind has a FuIl and evident
- perception, (0 a distinct Idea is thar Wherein the Mind perceires a disse-
- rence trom all otter; and a confused Idea is such an onc, 25 IS nOL SUF.
- sicienty distinguistable trom another, trom wrhich it oughe to be dif.
- ferent.
- 8. 5. IE n0 Idea be consused, but such as is nor sufficiently distinouistr.
- able trom avother, trom wrhich it Mould De ditterent, it will be hard, may
- any onc lar, to tind anznrhere a contuled Idea. For let any idea De as
- it will, it con be no ottier buc such as che Mind perccires it tobe; and
- that very perception, susicienty distinguittes ie trom all otter Ideas,
- erhich cannot be other, i. e. different, ithout being perceived to be 10.
- No Idea theresore can be undiltinguishable trom another, trom which it
- oushe robe ditterent, unlessy ou vould have ic difterene trom it selt: For
- From all ocher, it is evidentiy difterent.
- 6. 6. Foremore this difficuler, and to help us to conceire ariphe, What
- it is, that matces the contution, Ldeas are at any rime chargeable with, we
- must consider, that Thinos are suppoled diflerent enoush cohave difterene
- Names, Whereby eobe markred, and discoursed ot apart, upon any occq
- ton: And there is nothins more crident, than that the greatest part ot
- dilserent Names, are suppoled to stand for different Things. No every
- Idea 2Man has, beino visibly irhat ic is, and distinct srom allother Ideas,
- but it selF, chat wrhich matces it confused is, When ic is uch, that it mar a5
- vell be called bV another Name, as that which it is expressed by: the dif-
- ference trhich lcep the Things (to be ranted under thole trvo diffe.
- rent Names) distinct, and mmatces them belone rather to the onc, than
- the ocher of them, beine lest out; and so the dictinction, Wrhich vas in-
- tended to be hert up by chose difterent Names, is quite lost.
- 9. 7. The Defaults Which ulually occasion this Confusion, lchinlr, are chieAty
- these folloving:
- First. When any complex Idea (For tis complex Ideas that are most
- lioble to contusion) is made ux of 100 smalla number of simple Ideas, and
- Tuch onty as are common to other Things, Whereby the differences, thac
- make it deserve a ditterent Wame, are letr out. Thus he, that has an
- Idea mace up ot barely the simple ones oF a BCast With SpOrS, has buEa
- contuled Idea oF a Leopard, it not beino thereby susticienty distinoui
- Med troma Lynx, and several ocher lorts ot Bealts chat are sported. 50
- that Cuch an Idea, chouoh ic hach the peculiar Hmme Lcopard, is not di-
- Stinonisable trom those deligned By the Names LynX, Or Panther, and
- may as ell come under the Name Pynx, as Leopard. TTo muchthe
- cultom of detinins of Words by general terms, contributes to matie the
- Ideas we vould express by them, consuled and undetermined, I lcave o-
- Chersto consider. This isevidene, chat contused Pdeas are luch as render
- these oF Words uncertain, and catce awaz the benetit ot dictinet Names.
- When the Ideas, For Whieh e used different terms, have noc a difference
- ansverablero. their distinet Names, and so cannot be distinguistred bythem
- chere ic is chat chey are truls contuled.
Cite
An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 164. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0180?run=74