In the letter ‘A Letter Concerning Toleration’ John Locke sets out the arguments as to why it is irrational to force someone to become Christian against their will and whilst Locke writes as a Christian it acknowledged that it is true for all religious beliefs. As a whole his letter makes a case for the toleration of other religious beliefs. The main argument within the letter is the irrationality argument but it also included others such as the unchristian argument and the inconsistency argument. The irrationality argument begins with the following assumption: ‘The care of each man’s soul, and of the things of heaven… is left entirely to every man’s self’ in Horton and Mendum (eds) (1991), p.44 Whilst this assumption itself is somewhat open to discussion Locke takes it as a given and is not one that he creates an argument for. With this assumption Locke’s irrationality argument is neatly shown as: Premise one Magistrates’ only sanction is coercion Premise two Coercion cannot alter religious beliefs Conclusion So magistrates cannot alter religious beliefs This structure shows the two initial premises which he argues, in detail, to be correct and in the case that they are correct a logically valid conclusion. Within the first premise the word ‘Magistrates’ refers not only to judges but also to the power available to Government and police forces. Their power resides in the creation of laws, the enforcement of them, and the distribution of punishments if they are broken. If a law is broken the only option available to magistrates is physical restraint (incarceration) or the threat of violence, furthermore as an act of persuasion they can provide coercion as a method of altering a person’s behaviour. This relates to th... ... middle of paper ... ...em out from being successful ‘just’ because they could cause a person permanent mental damage. Therefore I feel that the argument from Waldron stands up as an attack on Locke’s irrationality argument especially in the case on indirect coercion as his argument makes both a compelling point on how it could be effective and finally challenges one of Locke’s assumptions further strengthening his case. I think there may be a case for direct coercion being successful this but has obvious moral issues. Works Cited Horton, J. and Mendus, S. (eds) (1991) ‘John Locke A Letter Concerning Toleration in Focus’, Routledge. Mendus, Susan (1989), ‘Toleration and the Limits of Liberalism’, Macmillan. Orwell, George (1949) Nineteen Eighty-Four, Penguin, 1989 edn. Thaler, Richard H (2008), ‘Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness’, Yale University Press
Trans. William Popple. N.p., c. 1686. - c Print. The.. 4) Locke, John.
“You will surely grant and concede to me, that nothing more pernicious and fearful can happen to anyone than the loss of his soul.” (38).
A magistrate is a judge who administrates the law and, in this case, uses Confucian and Legalist values, to enforce the combined principles. An effective magistrate is honest and fairly "decide[s] who is guilty and who is innocent (5)." A hard working judge, like Judge Dee, will find the criminal and continue to take cases on top
Locke, John Essay concerning Humane Understanding, Book II ("Of Ideas"), Chapter 1 ("Of Ideas in General, and Their Original")
The underlying paradox of irrationality, from which no theory can entirely escape, is this: if we explain it too well, we turn it into a concealed form of rationality; while if we assign incoherence too glibly, we merely compromise our ability to diagnose irrationality by withdrawing the background of rationality needed to justify any diagnosis at all. (1)
He makes a strong suggestion by saying, “that creatures of the same species and rank, should also be equal one amongst another, without subordination or subjection, unless the lord and master of them all should, by any manifest declaration of his will, set one above another, and confer on him, by an evident and clear appointment, an undoubted right to dominion and sovereignty.” For people to confirm the state of Nature, a law is set that obliges people to follow and consult it. The Law of Nature brings many things that need to be followed by each person. Locke describes the law’s consequences if not obeyed by saying, “the execution of the law of Nature is in that state put into every man’s hands, whereby every one has a right to punish the transgressors of that law to such a degree as may hinder its violation.” Every law is fair and equal to every person.
Locke believes that everyone is born as a blank slate. According to Locke there is no innate human nature but human nature is something we create. And because we are born as an equal blank slate all men have the opportunity to create human nature therefore Locke believed all men are created equal. Unlike Bentham Locke believed that government needed to take a step back and allow for each individual to have the right to three things: life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The Governments role should not be in dictating people what to do but to allow individuals to their three
John Locke is best seen as the “Father of Classical Liberalism” making him one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers during the 17th-century, considered as the era of modern philosophy. Locke puts his trust in human reasoning because he believes that all humans are born equal, stating that no one has power above another person and that they have the right to commit the actions that each one pleases to do so. In the Second Treatise of Government Locke says, “we must consider, what state 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, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave, or depending upon the will of any other man” (Locke 8). Locke explains how men are reasonable when they make decisions, leaving it entirely up to the person to do as ...
...self, and he regards his individuality as the single lord he must venerate. This conviction that he is the one true owner of his soul shows how highly he holds himself; the respect and protectiveness he fosters for his own being is far above that of all other men.
...is simple truth we learn that man must acknowledge when his work is complete and then chose to focus on that which is better and cannot be taken away from us – time spent in communion with the Lord, memories shared with loved ones, and rest. But, most importantly, from this passage we learn that man must not put his faith in anyone or anything else but the Lord, for he is sufficient to provide for our needs and desires. He knows each person before their birth, he gives each of them a purpose in life, salvation from their sins, a place to dwell God’s presence after death, and selfless love. Man’s only true need is salvation from the sins that have condemned him. The only way to receive that salvation is through faith in God. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has allowed man to do that, anything more is futile for he alone is sufficient and his work is complete.
The magistrates are what the American government would consider the executive branch. They were the leaders of the political and military aspects of government and were led by the consuls. In most cases, the magistrates were only able to hold office for one year, this way they did not have enough time to accumulate power and ultimately overthrow the government or leave a significant impression on the Republic ...
John Locke’s conception of the “legitimate state” is surrounded by much controversy and debate over whether he emphasizes the right over the good or the good over the right. In the midst of such a profound and intriguing question, Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration, provides strong evidence that it is ineffective to have a legitimate state “prioritize” the right over the good.
Furthermore, Locke's passion for morality is also seen in his interpretation of the social contract. We see that Locke's ideas in freedom of life, liberty, and property have formed the basic morals of past and current governments. One of Edwards's morals that have been seen throughout American history is the infinite sovereignty of G...
John Locke possesses many characteristics of an idealist. However, he also believes that we were created by God and that we our morally obligated to preserve ourselves and the rest of humankind. How he can come to this conclusion when he believes we have no pre-knowledge of anything is somewhat disturbing. If we only perceive things with our senses, or though our own mind reflection how is this logic possible? It seems to be a contradiction in th...
...hat the mind occasionally has the liberty, with respect of willing, to perform actions. Locke also seems to add a second distinct characteristic that liberty has. In this case, not only liberty has the power to do or forbear action, it also has the power to suspend the execution of action in order to decide what course of action to take. Lastly, he insist that freedom cannot possibly be asserted by will, yet later he reasons although he believes improperly that, free will is the power to suspend execution in order to decide.