Why Atheism? by George H. Smith

Author:George H. Smith [Smith, George H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2009-09-01T18:02:00+00:00

NOTES

1. It is at this point that the historian of philosophy is expected to display his sophistication by pointing out that the traditional scheme of rationalism versus empiricism is by no means a clear-cut distinction, since many philosophers (e.g., John Locke) who were influenced by both Descartes and Bacon exhibited both tendencies to one degree or another. This is doubtless true-no historian that I know of has ever denied it-but it is scarcely to the point. The traditional division between rationalism and empiricism is an example of what Max Weber called "ideal types," i.e., abstract models of essential characteristics that omit particular variations for the purpose of analysis and as an aid to historical understanding. To draw an abstract line of demarcation between rationalism and empiricism is quite legitimate in this sense, even if that line tends to become blurred in individual cases. After all, to say that Locke incorporated some features of both approaches provides a valuable insight into some of the internal tensions and inconsistencies of his philosophy, and this kind of insight would not be possible unless we had previously distinguished between the ideal types of rationalism and empiricism.

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