Locke, Epistle to the reader

The opening few paragraphs appear to me to be saying that he hopes the reader has pleasure in reading it as he did in writing it. It seems to say that he enjoyed writing it and he is proud and pleased with the finished work. But, later in the text '...may be long but I may be too busy, or lazy, to shorten it' could connote a different stance.

One of the key points i took from the text was the idea that we are all born with a blank slate; when born we have no innate conceptions. Locke believed that we learn everything through experience and gain information by practice. I do not completely agree with this theory as I think that there are some things, such as the ability to breathe underwater for the first few minutes after birth. This is not learnt through practice but is done innately. The same as learning to walk. It does take practice to do competently but we will attempt to do it without pushing from parents.

Another point which I gathered from the reading was that we all will take a different approach and meaning to things. This was written by Locke as ' Everything does not hit alike upon a man's imagination. We have an understanding no less different than our pallets, and want to season our meat differently. I took this as to meaning: needing a different seasoning is needing the same point explained in a altered way to another. This also fits with the idea that two could have the same experiences yet take opposing meanings and therefore create their own morals and feelings about a situation.

The statement ' The age we live in is not the least knowing, therefore it is not easy to be satisfied' I took as implying that due to the fact that we are so knowledgeable and learned we find it hard to be contempt with what we know.

His points do make sense but I would still like to disagree with the points that we are born with no concept of any knowledge. The fact that he kept adding to and amending the text tells us that he also had changing ideas and thoughts about what he knew. Although, this would agree with this theory that we learn through experience?!