What is the main idea of the passage?

Molyneux's problem asks whether knowledge gained by touch transfers immediately to sight or requires new learning. (The passage repeatedly contrasts tactile recognition with an untested visual connection and explains why the case matters.)

Why does the passage say the puzzle is not an intelligence test?

A person can understand shapes through touch while still lacking a learned link to visual patterns. (The third paragraph separates knowledge within one sense from the connection between senses.)

What does “correspond” mean in the third paragraph?

match or relate to one another (The learner must connect visual depth and outline with the already known tactile shape.)

Which two objects appear in the original question?

a cube and a sphere (The opening scenario explicitly names a cube and a sphere.)

The Hand That Recognizes a Shape: Level 2 Reading Comprehension Questions

Imagine a person unable to see but able to recognize a cube and a sphere by touch. If sight were later gained, could that person identify the shapes by looking alone, before touching them again?

This question was posed to philosopher John Locke by William Molyneux. It asks whether knowledge learned through one sense automatically connects to another. The hand knows the cube through flat surfaces and edges. The eye receives patterns of light. Are those two patterns already linked, or must experience build the connection?

The puzzle is not a test of intelligence. A person might understand both shapes through touch and still need time to learn how visual depth and outline correspond to them. Modern studies of restored sight are difficult to interpret because surgery, recovery, and earlier light experience vary.

Molyneux's problem remains useful because it turns a broad question about learning into a concrete choice between two objects. Whatever answer one favors, the case reveals that “knowing a shape” may involve several abilities rather than one simple piece of knowledge.

Comprehension questions