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An essay concerning human understanding

  
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[title page]
  
To The Right Honourable Lord Thomas,
  
Epistle to the Reader

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Introduction An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
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Book I Neither Principles Nor Ideas Are Innate
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Book II Of Ideas
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Book III Of Words
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Book IV Of Knowledge and Probability
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Chapter I Of Knowledge in General
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Chapter II Of the Degrees of our Knowledge
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Chapter III Of the Extent of Human Knowledge
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Chapter IV Of the Reality of Knowledge
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Chapter V Of Truth in General
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Chapter VI Of Universal Propositions: their Truth and Certainty
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Chapter VII Of Maxims
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Chapter VIII Of Trifling Propositions
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Chapter IX Of our Threefold Knowledge of Existence
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Chapter X Of our Knowledge of the Existence of a God
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Chapter XI Of our Knowledge of the Existence of Other Things
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Chapter XII Of the Improvement of our Knowledge
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Chapter XIII Some Further Considerations Concerning our Knowledge
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Chapter XIV Of Judgment
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Chapter XV Of Probability
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Chapter XVI Of the Degrees of Assent
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Chapter XVII Of Reason
  
1. Various significations of the word "reason.
  
2. Wherein reasoning consists.
  
3. Reason in its four degrees.
  
4. Whether syllogism is the great instrument of reason: first cause to doubt this.
  
Men can reason well who cannot make a syllogism.
  
Aristotle.
  
Syllogism does not discover ideas, or their connexions.
  
The connexion must be discovered before it can be put into syllogisms.
  
Use of syllogism.
  
Not the only way to detect fallacies.
  
Another cause to doubt whether syllogism be the only proper instrument of reason, in the discovery of truth.
  
5. Syllogism helps little in demonstration, less in probability.
  
6. Serves not to increase our knowledge, but to fence with the knowledge we suppose we have.
  
7. Other helps to reason than syllogism should be sought.
  
8. We can reason about particulars; and the immediate object of all our reasonings is nothing but particular ideas.
  
9. Our reason often fails us.
  
10. Because our ideas are often obscure or imperfect.
  
11. Because we perceive not intermediate ideas to show conclusions.
  
12. Because we often proceed upon wrong principles.
  
13. Because we often employ doubtful terms.
  
14. Our highest degree of knowledge is intuitive, without reasoning.
  
15. The next is got by reasoning.
  
16. To supply the narrowness of demonstrative and intuitive knowledge we have nothing but judgment upon probable reasoning.
  
17. Intuition, Demonstration, Judgment
  
18. Consequences of words, and consequences of ideas.
  
19. Four sorts of arguments.
  
20. Argumentum ad ignorantiam.
  
21. Argumentum ad hominem.
  
22. Argumentum adjudicium.
  
23. Above, contrary, and according to reason.
  
24. Reason and faith not opposite, for faith must be regulated by reason.
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Chapter XVIII Of Faith and Reason, and their Distinct Provinces
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Chapter XIX Of Enthusiasm
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Chapter XX Of Wrong Assent, or Error
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Chapter XXI Of the Division of the Sciences

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9. Our reason often fails us.

Reason, though it penetrates into the depths of the sea and earth, elevates our thoughts as high as the stars, and leads us through the vast spaces and large rooms of this mighty fabric, yet it comes far short of the real extent of even corporeal being. And there are many instances wherein it fails us: as,

I. In cases when we have no ideas. It perfectly fails us where our ideas fail. It neither does nor can extend itself further than they do. And therefore, wherever we have no ideas, our reasoning stops, and we are at an end of our reckoning: and if at any time we reason about words which do not stand for any ideas, it is only about those sounds, and nothing else.

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