An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 302
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The machine reads it as
- Maxims.
- acquainted with, nor such as ies carliest RnoWledge is COnVertanE
- about.
- S. F0 Seconalr, From what has been Paic, it plainly Pollotrs, that these moori
- Aed Maxims, are not the Principles and Foundations of all our other Rnou
- ledre. For il there be a great mans other Pruths, Which harcasmuchi sell evi-
- denec as ther, and a great mans that ire Know betore them, it is impossi-
- Dle cher Mould be the Principles, trom Which ne dedtuce all otter Tructs.
- Sitimpossible to lnoi that One and ZWo are equal to Three, DuF ZV vir:
- tue ol this, or some luch AXiom, viz. the WVhole is equal e0 eII iIS PAPFS
- talen tosether: Mans a onc lnomsthat One and ivo are equal to Three,
- Without havins heard, or thouche on that, or any other Axiom, Cy Wrhiek
- it misht be proved; and bnors it as certainls as any ocher Mon KnOWWS.
- ehat che Wholeis cqual to allits Parts, or any other Maxim, andall trom
- the same ReasonoF selfevidence; the Rqualiry of thole Ideas, beine as vi-
- lible and certain rotum ithout that, or any other Axiom, as withit, it
- needins no prootto malse it perceired. Nor atcer che lnow ledBc, That
- the Whole is equal to all its Parts, does he lno that onc and FWO are C
- qual tO thrCC, BCtter, Or more certainly than he did before. For it rhere
- be any odds in those ideas, the Whole and Parts are more obseure, or at
- lcast more difficult to be setled in the Minc, than thole oF One, Tuo, and
- Three. And indced, Pchink, Pmas aste these Men, who will nccdshare
- al Rnomledoe besides those general principles themselres, to depend on
- general, innate, and selfevident Principles, What Principle is requisite to
- prove, that One and One are Zvo, that Luo and Zwo are Four, that Three
- times Zwoare Six: Wtrich beins lenorn ithout any proot, do evince
- That cither all Hnom ledsedoesnoc depend on certain Praecognita or gene-
- ral Maxims, called Principles; or elle that these are Principles: and it
- these are tobe counted Principles, a great part of Numeration ill DC (0.
- ToWhichi we add aIl the selfevident Propolitions, may be made about
- aIl our distinet ideas, Principles will Be almost intinite, at least innume-
- rable, ertich Men arrive co the Rnomledge of, at different AGCS; and q
- Preat mans of theseinnate Principles, they never come to linow all their
- Lires. Buc Whether ther come in vier os the Mind, carlier or later, this is true
- OFthem, chat they arcall bnoun by their natire Fridence, are Wrhollr in
- devendent, receire no Lighr, nor are capable ot anr proot one trom ano-
- tler; much less themore particular, trom the more seneral; or the
- more simple, trom ehe more compounded: the more limple, and less al.
- stract, being the most tamiliar, and the casier and carlier apprehended.
- Bur Whicherer De the clearest Ldeas, the F.vidence and Certainty oF alI such
- Proposionsis in this, Thar a Man scesthe lame Idea to be the lame Idea,
- and insallibly perceires eroditterent deas to Dedifferent Ldeas. FOr When a
- Man has in his Onderstandine, the Ideas ot one and ot tro; the Idea ot
- Vello and the Ldea of Blue, hecannotbur certainls linor, thatthe Idea
- oF One is the Idea oF One, and not tHse Ldea of Tro; and that the Idea
- Ot Vellor is the idea ot Vello, and not the idea oE Bluc. For aMan
- cannor contound the ldeas in his Mind, Which he has dictinct: Thac
- ouldbero have them consused and distinet at the lame rime, rrhich is a
- Contradiction: And to have none diltindt, is to have no ule ot our Facul-
- Eies, to have no KEnowledoe at aII. And cherelore irtrat Idea soever is aF-
- Sirmed OFiF selF; Or Whatsoerer tuo entire distinet Ideas are denied onc of
- auother, the Mlind cannot but assent to such a Propolition, as intallibly
- erue, as loon as ie understands the Terms, Without FPelititation or necd ot
- Proot, orresardins tholemacle in more general Terms, and called Maxims.
- B00l
Cite
An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, fol. 302. Machine transcription, not an edition: Leibniz Legible (model FoNDUE-GD_v2_ft_Leibniz, run 74). https://leibnizlegible.com/page/778263916:0318?run=74