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Primary sourceBook1689 (dated 1690)

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

John Locke · 1689 (dated 1690)

Locke's major philosophical work arguing that all knowledge comes from experience, not innate ideas.

Locke's foundational work of empiricist philosophy, written in his own voice.

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Title page of the 1690 first edition of An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. Large capitals read 'AN ESSAY CONCERNING Humane Understanding. In Four Books.' A Latin epigraph from Cicero follows, then a printer's ornament and the imprint 'LONDON: Printed for Tho. Basset, and sold by Edw. Mory at the Sign of the Three Bibles in St. Paul's Church-Yard. MDCXC.'
John Locke, An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, title page, London, 1690.

About this source

What it is

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding was written by John Locke and first printed in 1689 (dated 1690). In four books, Locke rejects the idea that people are born with innate ideas, arguing instead that the mind begins as a blank slate filled by sensation and reflection.

Why it matters

The essay became one of the most influential works of early modern philosophy, shaping later thinkers such as David Hume and George Berkeley, and contributing to how people have thought about knowledge, identity and the mind ever since. It shows Locke working out, step by step, an alternative to the rationalist philosophy of thinkers like Descartes.

Look closer

  • What examples does Locke use to argue against innate ideas, and why might he have chosen them?
  • How might Locke's idea of the mind as a 'blank slate' have been used or misused by later thinkers?
  • Why dedicate the book to a nobleman — what does this tell you about how books were published at the time?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of John Locke on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the 1690 London edition of Two Treatises of Government, printed in black letter and roman type in a bordered frame, reading 'Two Treatises of Government... an Essay concerning the True Original, Extent, and End of Civil Government', printed for Awnsham Churchill at the Black Swan in Ave-Mary-Lane, by Amen-Corner, 1690.Book

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Two Treatises of Government

John Locke · 1689 (dated 1690)

Sepia-toned mezzotint portrait of a man with long wavy hair, wearing a loose coat and open collar, turning slightly to his left within an oval frame of foliage. A cartouche at the bottom reads 'John Locke Esq.' with inscriptions in the lower corners.Painting

Secondary source

John Locke, Mezzotint after Godfrey Kneller

Godfrey Kneller

Title page of A Letter Concerning Toleration. Large capitals read 'A LETTER', then 'CONCERNING', then 'Toleration: Humbly Submitted, &c.' Below: 'LICENSED, October 3, 1689', then 'LONDON, Printed for Awnsham Churchill, at the Black Swan at Amen-Corner. 1689.' Faint reprint copyright text in background.Letter

Primary source

A Letter Concerning Toleration

John Locke · written 1685-1686, published 1689

Engraved oval portrait of a man with long wavy hair, wearing a loose dark gown over a white collared shirt, set in an ornate oval frame atop a pedestal bearing a coat of arms. Inscription below reads 'Effigies Iohannis Locke' with a Latin line beneath, plus artist credits 'G. Kneller Equ. pinxit 1697' and 'Geo. Vertue Sculp. 1722'.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of John Locke, frontispiece to Works

George Vertue, after Sir Godfrey Kneller · 1722

Black and white line engraving of a man with long wavy hair in a dark oval frame, wearing a loose coat over a white shirt. Below are books and a cartouche reading 'JOHN LOCKE Esq.' with a caption engraved for the Universal Magazine 1749.Painting

Secondary source

John Locke, Line Engraving after Kneller, 1749

Godfrey Kneller · 1749

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