Question

Explain Locke's account of primary and secondary qualities and provide an example using a physical object

Answer 1

Locke suggests that the primary qualities are the properties of objects that create and idea or mental representation of that product while the secondary qualities do not resemble the properties of that product. He also suggests that the sensation caused by the primary qualities would resemble the object in the mind and sensation caused by the secondary qualities cannot bring this resemblance. For example, if one has a car, the primary properties of a car is its four wheels and the normal shape of a car although there are few differences depending on the model, the secondary property would be it’s color because it could be of any color. Thus, if one says that one has a red car, the properties that make a car is primary and the color is secondary.

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