Influence of John Locke’s Philosophy On Constitutionalism and Robinson Crusoe
The political and demotic atmospheres of a state altered impressively by the emerging of new philosophy as tracing back to the history of 17th -18th century Europe. John Locke, a great British philosopher of 17th century, laid a ground foundation for the Enlightenment and contributes to the conceptualization of liberalism and equality. His theories and philosophy deeply influenced Daniel Defoe’s adventure novel, Robinson Crusoe and the development of English government after Glorious Revolution. Locke becomes one of the greatest English empiricists by sharing his philosophy to the public. Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) comes out as his monumental work
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In a great English novel, Robinson Crusoe, Defoe expresses an extraordinary adventure story with building impressive characters and plots, in which he embodies Locke’s philosophy of the state of nature and human understanding. Crusoe becomes frustrated and terrified when he finds a strange human footprint in the sand. He runs with full speed back to his fortification where he calls it as a castle. “In some convenient place, with my three guns all double-loaded; and in the middle of their bloody ceremony, let fly at them, when I should be sure to kill or wound perhaps two or three at every shoot; and the falling in upon them with my three pistols and my sword, I made no doubt but that if there was twenty I should kill them all. (170)” The appearance of a cannibal’s footprint makes Crusoe consider how he can save himself from the savages by killing them all with his arms, for they may visit his land and destroy all of his possessions in the future. It reflects the right of property of Locke’s philosophy, in which a man owns the property if he improves it the most, moreover, if a man’s property falls in threaten, he can do whatever necessary to protect his life and belongings. However, after a long time of designing schemes against the cannibals and spying on their daily entertainments, Crusoe finally alters his opinion of attacking the …show more content…
Crusoe saves Friday, a native from the island, who becomes Crusoe’s friend and assistant. Crusoe persuades Friday to convert to a Christian, but he does not force Christianity on Friday: “It was remarkable too, we had but three subjects, and they were of three different religions. My man Friday was a protestant, his father was a pagan and a cannibal, and the Spaniard was a papist: However, I allow'd liberty of conscience throughout my dominions: but this is by the way. (244)” Crusoe accepts his subjects have different religions under his domination. The idea of religious toleration is derived from John Locke’s philosophy in which individuals have rights to believe in any religions they want and no one can force any kind of religions on
One of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers was John Locke, an English philosopher and physician. His work and ideas had a incomputable impact on modern day society. He was known as “Father of Liberalism” due to his opinions of freedoms and liberty. According to Locke, the people were entitled to have control over themselves as long as it adheres to the law. The Second Treatise on Civil Government by John
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke have authored two works that have had a significant impact on political philosophy. In the “Leviathan” by Hobbes and “Two Treatises of Government” by Locke, the primary focus was to analyze human nature to determine the most suitable type of government for humankind. They will have confounding results. Hobbes concluded that an unlimited sovereign is the only option, and would offer the most for the people, while for Locke such an idea was without merit. He believed that the government should be limited, ruling under the law, with divided powers, and with continued support from its citizens. With this paper I will argue that Locke had a more realistic approach to identifying the human characteristics that organize people into societies, and is effective in persuading us that a limited government is the best government.
Second Treatise of Government by John Locke and Discourse on the Origin of Inequality by Jean-Jacques Rousseau are books written to try and explain the origin of society. Both try to explain the evils and inequalities of society, and to a certain degree to discuss whether man in his natural state is better than man in society. These political science based theories do not appear, at first, to have anything in common with J. Hector St. John De Crèvecoeur’s Letters from an American Farmer, which are letters written by Crèvecoeur during the settling of America and the beginning of the American Revolution, however with examination we can see reflection of both Locke’s and Rousseau’s ideas about things such as human nature, government, and inequality.
John Locke was perhaps the best example of someone who rejected the absolute view of government and had views that were radically different from it. Locke believe that people were born reasonable and moral – it was their natur...
This paper is about John Locke who was a philosopher in the 17-century. He was an Englishmen and his ideas formed the basic concept for the government and laws, which later allowed colonist to justify revolution. I agree with what Locke is saying because everybody should be able to have their own freedom and still respect the freedom of other people. John said, “Individuals have rights, and their duties are defined in terms of protecting their own rights and respecting those of others”. This paper will present to you information about his enlightenment, personal information, and how we as people feel about his decisions.
John Locke was an English philosopher who lived during 1632-1704. In political theory he was equally influential. Contradicting Hobbes, Locke maintained that the original state of nature was happy and characterized by reason and tolerance; all human beings were equal and free to pursue "life, health, liberty, and possessions." The state formed by the social contract was guided by the natural law, which guaranteed those inalienable rights. He set down the policy of checks and balances later followed in the U.S. Constitution; formulated the doctrine that revolution in some circumstances is not only a right but an obligation; and argued for broad religious freedom.
Review this essay John Locke – Second treatise, of civil government 1. First of all, John Locke reminds the reader from where the right of political power comes from. He expands the idea by saying, “we must consider what estate all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit.” Locke believes in equality among all people. Since every creature on earth was created by God, no one has advantages over another.
Providing the 17th century world with an alternative, innovative view on philosophy, politics, economics, and education among other interrelated and important aspects of life, John Locke proved to be a person of immense impact. Born in 1632, in Wrington, England, Locke was the author of many known writings which include the Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), The Two Treaties of Government (1698), A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), and Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693) (Goldie 32). Locke’s writings represent a series of topics involving the purpose of philosophy, the emergence of empiricism, and the role as well as limits of governments and churches in terms of liberty and natural rights. In a time where exposure of such controversial ideas would jeopardize the well-being of an author, it is no wonder that Locke postponed the publishing of his writings until after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. However, what impact did Locke’s ideas have on philosophy?
What John Locke was concerned about was the lack of limitations on the sovereign authority. During Locke’s time the world was surrounded by the monarch’s constitutional violations of liberty toward the end of the seventeenth century. He believed that people in their natural state enjoy certain natural, inalienable rights, particularly those to life, liberty and property. Locke described a kind of social contract whereby any number of people, who are able to abide by the majority rule, unanimously unite to affect their common purposes. The...
At the core of their theories, both Locke and Rousseau seek to explain the origin of civil society, and from there to critique it, and similarly both theorists begin with conceptions of a state of nature: a human existence predating civil society in which the individual does not find institutions or laws to guide or control one’s behaviour. Although both theorists begin with a state of nature, they do not both begin with the same one. The Lockean state of nature is populated by individuals with fully developed capacities for reason. Further, these individuals possess perfect freedom and equality, which Locke intends as granted by God. They go about their business rationally, acquiring possessions and appropriating property, but they soon realize the vulnerability of their person and property without any codified means to ensure their security...
John Locke (1632-1704) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) are two important thinkers of liberty in modern political thought. They have revolutionized the idea of human freedom at their time and have influenced many political thinkers afterwards. Although their important book on human freedom, John Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government (1689) and John Mill’s On Liberty (1859), are separated 170 years, some scholars thinks that they are belonging to the same conceptual tradition, English Liberalism. In this essay, I will elaborate John Locke and John Stuart Mill view on human freedom and try to find the difference between their concept of human freedom despite their similar liberal tradition background.
into the hands of one person or a group of people, which would create tyranny. To avoid this a French philosopher named Baron de Montesquieu advocated the creation of three distinct branches of government. John Locke had suggested separating the legislative and executive powers while Montesquieu added the need to separate the judiciary as well. He explained that the need to have a separate judiciary would be important because without it, people would have no liberties. This is the tripartite which the Founding Fathers had adopted at the Constitutional Convention.
Locke, John Essay concerning Humane Understanding, Book II ("Of Ideas"), Chapter 1 ("Of Ideas in General, and Their Original")
Issues of property and ownership were important during the 18th century both to scholars and the common man. The case of America demonstrates that politicians, such as Thomas Jefferson, were highly influenced by John Locke’s ideas including those on property and the individual’s right to it. Readers in the revolutionary era were also deeply interested in issues of spirituality and independence and read Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. Both Locke and Defoe address the issues of property, private ownership, and property accumulation, connecting them with the notions of individual and political independence. Although they appear to converge, their philosophies vary greatly on these topics. Several scholars conclude that both Defoe’s and Locke’s ideals support the development of a moral economy although neither express this desire directly.
John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau all dealt with the issue of political freedom within a society. John Locke's “The Second Treatise of Government”, Mill's “On Liberty”, and Rousseau’s “Discourse On The Origins of Inequality” are influential and compelling literary works which while outlining the conceptual framework of each thinker’s ideal state present divergent visions of the very nature of man and his freedom. The three have somewhat different views regarding how much freedom man ought to have in political society because they have different views regarding man's basic potential for inherently good or evil behavior, as well as the ends or purpose of political societies.