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On the “Evolution” of Locke’s Space and Time Metaphysics

Thomas, Emily

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Abstract

There is a near-consensus in the literature that John Locke's metaphysics of space and time undergo a radical evolution: in the 1670s, Locke holds relationism; by the first, 1690 edition of Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding, he has adopted Newtonian absolutism. This paper argues for an alternative reading, on which Locke's Essay is explicitly neutral or noncommittal with regard to the ontology of space and time; and yet there is reason to believe that the Essay implicitly preserves Locke's earlier relationism. In addition to challenging the existing scholarship, this paper excavates a form of pre- Leibnizian relationism, which may be of interest to twenty-first-century relationists looking to uncover the roots of their position; illuminates Locke's views on space and time, highlighting his opposition to Cartesianism on this head; and provides ammunition to non-Newtonian readings of Locke's Essay.

Citation

Thomas, E. (2016). On the “Evolution” of Locke’s Space and Time Metaphysics. History of Philosophy Quarterly, 33(4), 305-325

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Oct 1, 2016
Publication Date Oct 1, 2016
Deposit Date Nov 29, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal History of Philosophy Quarterly
Print ISSN 0740-0675
Electronic ISSN 2152-1026
Publisher University of Illinois Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 33
Issue 4
Pages 305-325
Publisher URL http://hpq.press.illinois.edu/33/4/thomas.html

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Copyright Statement
From History of Philosophy Quarterly. Copyright 2016 of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.





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