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"The next faculty of the mind, whereby it makes a farther progress towards knowledge, is that which I call retention or the keeping of those simple ideas which from sensation or reflection it hath received. This is done two ways. First, by keeping the idea which is brought into it for some time actually in view, which is called contemplation."
I agree with locke when he says retention has to do with the progression of knowledge, but I don't feel that is is just a reflection or image that is stuck in your head. I feel it is more than that and that he is not giving credit to the human mind for remembering and learning new facts and ideas.
1 comment:
I think what Locke is saying in this particular passage is for the mind to actually remember an idea it has to be significant enough for it to do so or at least make you think. For example, if you saw a woman just standing in a subway not moving you might think that this is odd but you would probably ignore it. If you saw a few hundred people standing "frozen" in the subway it would get your mind going and make you question and contemplate what is going on. You would wonder things such as are they doing this for fun? Are they protesting? What are they protesting for? Do I care what they are protesting about? This kind of thing would be significant enough for you to keep it in your head for at least a little while.
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