An Essay Concerning Human Understanding – John Locke – 1731 | 2 Volume Set

After studying medicine under the teaching of Thomas Sydenham, John Locke began his journey of philosophical thinking that would develop into his most famous written work. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding’ is one of the most important books on the development and cultivation of human understanding and knowledge. It is in this work that Locke first describes the idea of ‘blank slate’ of the mind or ‘tabula rasa.’ Locke’s ‘Essay’ is known to have directly influenced famous philosophers such as David Hume and George Berkeley.

This 1731 two-volume edition was published in London.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
• Author(s): John Locke
• Publisher: London: Printed for Edward Symon
• Edition: 1731. 10^th edition
• Format: (8vo), two volumes
• Binding: Full leather
• Size:  8in x 5in (20 cm x 13 cm)
• Collation:
  • Vol. I – [2], iv, [26], 372 pp
  • Vol. II – [18], 340, [28] pp
• Illustrations: Engraved portrait frontispiece
• Contents Include:
  • Epistle to the Reader
  • The Introduction
  • Of Ideas
  • Of Words
  • Of Knowledge and Opinion
  • Of the Extent and Reality of Human Understanding

Condition:

Good. Covers show rubbing and wear at corners and spine ends. Some loss at the base of the spines. Hinges are worn but intact. Text block is complete, tight, and secure.

Why Collect This?

• 18th-century printing of a landmark Enlightenment work
• Includes early expression of Locke’s blank slate theory

• Important title in the history of philosophy

Item Number: # 29381