Essay concerning human understanding

John Locke

Locke's Essay ... (1690) withstood an onslaught by traditional theologians, for rejecting orthodox theology and the concept of innate ideas: as he suggested that God could make matter think. The Essay quickly became one of the most influential books of the eighteenth century, and its contributions to the philosophy of space and time, matter and power were quickly hailed as formative contributions to ... philosophy''--Amazon.com.