In Chapter 2 of Institutional Economics entitled "Methods", Commons spends a significant amount of time on the English philosopher and political thinker John Locke. It is important to spend with Commons thinking on Locke to understand his overall project. Commons is keen to emphasize how Locke things about knowledge and the human brain. As a side point, I still think for those who claim Commons had no real theory of human cognition and human behavior just aren't actually reading Commons in full but only bits and parts or reading summaries of Commons. Again for Commons context matters. Locke was writing in response to an absolute monarch and church and so wanted to emphasize the role of the individuals and not talk so much about collective action. Locke talks about reflections and sensations. Reflections are the external stimulus we take in from the outside world through our senses. Sensations are how our internal mind understands and thinks about thes...
This blog has been setup to explore the ideas and philosophy of the American institutional economist John R. Commons.