Certainty Quote by Robert Trout
“From this bestial view that the human mind consists of only sense certainty, pleasure and pain, Locke developed an equally bestial theory of the nation. Man originally existed in a State of Nature of complete liberty.”
About This Quote
Source Book: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke, 1690
Locke’s view reduces human nature to basic sensations and self‑interest, extending this to a harsh view of national identity.
In simple terms: Locke saw mind as only senses, pleasure, pain, and applied this to nations.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the limits of reducing people to simple drives.
Themes
philosophy
politics
human nature
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- political theory
- national identity
- rights debates
Key Concepts
sensory experience
self‑interest
social contract
Questions to Reflect On
- How does this view affect modern political theory?
- Can human nature be fully explained by senses?
A Different Perspective
Reduces complex societies to animalistic terms.
![“Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will not be raised again if it submits to death. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. Flesh and blood cannot come to the Mountains [heaven]. Not because they are…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ba6/anonymous-1_arise_nothing-not-even-the-best-and-noblest-ca_27244.jpg)
![“[I]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge in mathematics, in so far as disposed through it we are able to reach certainty in other sciences and truth by the exclusion of error.” quote by Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d13/roger-bacon-15067_able_i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-a_24209.jpg)