John Locke

John Locke's Kit-cat portrait by Godfrey Kneller, National Portrait Gallery, London

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John Locke memorial stone

John Locke by John Greenhill

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John Locke by Richard Westmacott

Locke Signature

Locke treatises of government page

John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism." His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. Locke's theory of mind is often cited as the origin of modern conceptions of identity and the self, figuring prominently in the work of later philosophers such as David Hume, Rousseau, and Immanuel Kant. Locke was the first to define the self through a continuity of consciousness. He postulated that, at birth, the mind was a blank slate or tabula rasa. Contrary to Cartesian philosophy based on pre-existing concepts, he maintained that we are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience derived from sense perception.

Life

John Locke was born in 1632, in Wrington, Somerset, England. He received a comprehensive education at Westminster School and later at Christ Church, Oxford. After completing his studies, Locke held several administrative positions and was involved in academic and political activities, including serving as a secretary to the influential nobleman Lord Ashley (later Earl of Shaftesbury).

In 1683, due to a political crisis in England, Locke went into exile in the Netherlands, where he spent several years. During this period, he wrote most of his seminal works, including Two Treatises of Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Locke returned to England in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution had established a constitutional monarchy under William III and Mary II.

Philosophical Contributions

Empiricism

Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689) is a foundational text in the history of empiricism. In it, Locke argues that the mind at birth is a tabula rasa (blank slate) and that all knowledge comes from experience, either through sensation or reflection. This idea was a radical departure from the dominant Scholasticism of the time, which posited that some ideas are innate.

Political Philosophy

In his Two Treatises of Government, Locke laid down the principles of civil society, government, and property. He argued against the divine right of kings and proposed that government is legitimized by the consent of the governed and should serve to protect the rights of life, liberty, and property. If a government fails to do so, citizens have the right to overthrow it. This principle deeply influenced the American Revolution and the drafting of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Religious Tolerance

Locke also advocated for religious tolerance, arguing in his Letter Concerning Toleration that government should not interfere in the personal religious practices of individuals. He believed that religious belief was a matter of personal conviction that could not be legislated.

Legacy

Locke's ideas about liberty, property, and the rights of individuals became foundational to modern democracy, liberalism, and constitutional government. His theories of mind and knowledge influenced the development of empiricism and rationalism, two of the most important philosophical schools of thought in the Enlightenment.

Selected Works

• An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689)
• Two Treatises of Government (1689)
• A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689)
• Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)
• The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)

See Also

• Enlightenment
• Liberalism
• Empiricism
• Political philosophy
• Epistemology