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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of elucidating the fundamental structure of human thoughts. Locke portrays that a man is born as a blank slate, which means an individual has neither innate knowledge nor discovery at birth. The most basic knowledge is composed of simple ideas and a man gains knowledge through experience in two ways: sensation and reflection. As he was frequently in the company of Shaftesbury and the opposition to Charles II, he published two treatise of government finally in 1690. In his most famous work, Second Treatise of Government, Locke presents a new idea of the political philosophy of liberalism, in which he declares that individuals in the state of nature have unalienable rights to the pursuit of happiness, liberty and private property. Men have rights and freedom to do anything they want, but only within the limitation of the law of nature. On the other hand, a men at the state of nature has to respect the properties, liberties and lives of others through reason: “ reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it, that, being all equal and independent, on one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty and possessions. (Locke, 1689, ch.7)” In Chapter Two of Second Treatise of Government, Locke says that if a individual’s preservation comes in danger or one’s life is threatened, then he or she does not need to respect others’ rights and could do anything necessary to secure himself. Locke’s asserts his positive and strong political philosophy in Second Treatise of Government, in which he portrayed an argument that “the government exists to protect the best achievements and liberty of the state of nature, not to overcome them. (Kagan, 2004)” He expresses his negative attitude of divine right and absolute power in a sovereign, for all men have the natural rights of life, liberty and property. Political government derives its authority from the consent of governed, however, in circumstances of betraying the trust, individuals have the right to replace it with a new suitable political group. In respect of this, Locke’s political philosophy establishes the fundamental idea of legitimate government, which has a strong impact on the English Glorious Revolution. On early 1689, William III the Orange and Mary assumed the power in England ruling as joint monarchs also known as the Glorious Revolution. Later on, they accepted the English Bill of Rights from Parliament, which reduced and restricted the power of a king and established a constitutional monarchy in Britain. In Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), Locke’s ideas on religious toleration and the separation of Church and State intensify his philosophy on liberalism and equality. He suggests that each individual has a responsibility for his or her own religion choices and the government should not make religious decisions for its people unless the belief could cause chaos in a state. Importantly, in Locke’s religious toleration, everyone has a duty to respect other’s religious salvation. Locke’s influential philosophy not only gives impacts on constitutionalism in history, but also affects deeply in English literature.
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…
cannibals: “What authority or call I had to pretend to be judge and executioner upon these men as criminals, whom Haven had thought fit for ages to suffer unpunished to go on, and to be, as it were, the executioners of His judgments one upon another. (171)” He starts reasoning maturely and mercifully when he finds that a balanced relationship between him and the cannibals probably exist. The alteration of considering relationships turns more to a toleration, which is described in Locke’s Second Treatise of Government: individuals have a duty to respect the property (and lives and liberties) of others even in the state of nature, a duty he traces to natural law. Natural law and natural rights coexist, but natural law is primary, commanding respect for the rights of others. Locke’s idea of religious toleration impresses the relationship between Crusoe and his native friends.
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
them. Defoe also applies Locke’s ideas of logic and reason onto Crusoe’s philosophy: “So I went to work; and here I must needs observe, that as reason is the substance and original of the mathematics, so by stating and squaring every thing by reason, and by making the most rational judgment of things, every man may be in time master of every mechanic Art. (69)” Locke wants individuals to use reason and logic to understand and judge the truth just as Crusoe does. In Crusoe’s philosophy, he believes that logic and reasoning could determine the skills to survive. Robinson Crusoe establishes a systematical society on the island and it becomes organized and colonized. The influence of Locke’s philosophy spread widely through out the history, whose theories and writings become the cornerstone of further studies on human mind and human nature. His philosophy of limited government restricts the power of the monarchy in order to protect its citizens’ rights of pursuit of happiness and prosperity. Locke’s theoretical writings also have a great impaction on literary works.
John Locke, one of the leading philosophers of the European Enlightenment was very important when it came to political thought in the United States. His ideas of the reasons, nature, and limits of the government became especially important in the development of the Constitution. In one of his most famous writings of that time, Two Treatises on Government (1689), Locke established a theory where personal liberty could coexist with political power ; meaning that the people would agree to obey the government and in return, the government would have the responsibility of respecting the people’s natural rights. In other words, he laid out a social contract theory that provided the philosophy and source of a governing author...
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...
Locke, John Essay concerning Humane Understanding, Book II ("Of Ideas"), Chapter 1 ("Of Ideas in General, and Their Original")
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.
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
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.
The Founding Fathers of the United States relied heavily on many of the principles taught by John Locke. Many of the principles of Locke’s Second Treatise of Government may easily be discovered in the Declaration of Independence with some minor differences in wording and order. Many of the ideas of the proper role of government, as found in the Constitution of the United States, may be discovered in the study of Locke. In order to understand the foundation of the United States, it is vital that one studies Locke. A few ideas from Hume may be found but the real influence was from Locke. Rousseau, on the other hand, had none.
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.
John Locke is considered one of the best political minds of his time. The modern conception of western democracy and government can be attributed to his writing the Second Treatise of Government. John Locke championed many political notions that both liberals and conservatives hold close to their ideologies. He argues that political power should not be concentrated to one specific branch, and that there should be multiple branches in government. In addition to, the need for the government to run by the majority of the population through choosing leaders, at a time where the popular thing was to be under the rule of a monarch. But despite all of his political idea, one thing was extremely evident in his writing. This was that he preferred limited
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.
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.
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.
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.