John Locke

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John Locke John Locke, born on Aug. 29, 1632, in Somerset, England, was an English philosopher and political theorist. Locke was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he followed the traditional classical curriculum and then turned to the study of medicine and science, receiving a medical degree, but his interest in philosophy was reawakened by the study of Descartes. He then joined the household of Anthony Ashley Cooper, later the earl of Shaftesbury, as a personal physician at first, becoming a close friend and advisor. Shaftesbury secured for Locke a series of minor government appointments. In 1669, in one of his official capacities, Locke wrote a constitution for the proprietors of the Carolina Colony in North America, but it was never put into effect. In 1671 Locke began to write his greatest work, the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which took nearly twenty years to complete since he was deeply engaged in Shaftesbury's political affairs. In 1675, after the liberal Shaftesbury had fallen from favor, Locke went to France. In 1679 he returned to England, but in view of his opposition to the Roman Catholicism favored by the English monarchy at that time, he soon found it expedient to return to the Continent. From 1683 to 1688 he lived in Holland, and following the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the restoration of Protestantism to favor, Locke returned once more to England. The new king, William III, appointed Locke to the Board of Trade in 1696, a position from which he resigned because of ill health in 1700. He died in Oates on October 28, 1704. Locke's Essay is one of the classical documents of British empirical philosophy. His official concern is with epistemology, the theory of knowledge. Locke sees the u... ... middle of paper ... ...ers. Against Hobbes, Locke argues that the ruler's rights as well as those of everyone are restrained by the laws of nature; the right to life, liberty, and property. The ruler's powers are given to him as a trust for the good of the citizens, and if the trust is broken his powers can be taken away. He believed that a monarchy with an assembly to hold the monarch to his trust was an ideal political arrangement. Unlike Hobbes he believed that principles of conduct were rational and humans could be trusted to follow those principles. Locke's influence in modern philosophy has been profound and, with his application of empirical analysis to ethics, politics, and religion, he remains one of the most important and controversial philosophers of all time. Among his other works are Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693) and The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695).

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    Lockes and Hobbes ideas of government differed greatly, Hobbes believed in an absolute government while Locke believed in a very limited one.Locke believed that people were naturally good and trustful and that they had the capacity to govern themselves. So the need of the government only came in the form of stopping any potential disputes that would occur. While Hobbes believed that humans were not all that good and their need for government stemmed from the fact that people cannot govern themselves. Furthermore Locke believed that the governments role was to listen to the people it was governing, a rule by consent. While Hobbes believed that the Government was to rule on it’s own and owed no answers or consent by the people. Moreover Locke believed that the purpose of the government was to protect the property and freedom of its people, while Hobbes believed that the governments role was to tell them what to do. But arguably the biggest difference between the philosophies is the notion of government accountability. Hobbes believed that the government had free reign to do what they please with no backlash, while Locke believed that if the social contract was broken then the people of the community had the right to revolt and over throw the government. To further this point Locke unlike Hobbes believed that leaders should

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    Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were both very important men, and both had a tremendous influence on the upcoming of this country. However, as much as these men had in common, some of their beliefs were very different. For example, Hobbes believed that politics should be based on the desire of power and the fear of death. He wanted to create a powerful state, what he called a “Leviathan”. (“A government to protect the people from one another to keep them in awe”) In the “Social Contract” Hobbes said that men should give up rights to an authority to act for them, on their behalf. He said that sovereign authority had to be absolute to overcome fear of death in nature. With this said, it basically meant that the governments only reason for existing was for the safety of the people. He also believed that no person was subject to any power above them, so there was no certain power to protect any one power from another. “You took by force what you wanted, you are only as safe as your own intellect and physical strength.” So, Hobbes believed that the government should provide protection, well-being, and any other need a citizen might have. If there was no government, there was fear. Locke on the other hand believed that rulers and citizens’ rights should all be restricted by the laws of nature (right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of property). He believed that a person should not be under political power without agreeing to the power itself. He said that the people should agree to be under political power, and should agree to government. The government should act only by majority decision, and that the powers are given to the government as trust. The minute that the trust is broken, then the powers can be taken away. He beli...

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    Locke’s Essay is very much an epistemological work. This is a very modest description of his aims, but the work is really much more than this, attempting to establish in a general way the limits of the human understanding. Locke purpose is to inquire into the original, certainty, and extent of human knowledge, together with the grounds and degrees of belief, opinion and assent, without meddling with the physical consideration of the mind. He is concerned about the limits of the human understanding, a preoccupation which was to become common in the philosophy that followed his.

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  • How Did Rene Descartes Influence Western Philosophy

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