one of the first of the British empiricists
an important figure in social contract theory
Classical Liberalism
limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process
Locke also influenced...
many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers (the Scottish Enlightenment included David Hume [1711-1776, philosopher, historian, economist and essayist] and Adam Smith [1723-1790, social philosopher and pioneer of political economy])
opposed: superstition, intolerance, abuses in church and state
Empiricism
an epistemological view
a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience emphasizes the role of experience and evidence, especially sensory perception, in the formation of ideas, over the notion of innate ideas or traditions
property is a natural right and is derived from labor human nature is characterized by reason and tolerance and allows for selfishness governmental separation of powers
the Lockean self: a self-aware and selfreflective consciousness fixed in a body
tabula rasa (“blank slate”): the mind is born empty and shaped by experience, ideas are caused by sensations and reflections
Locke on Education...
"I think I may say that of all the men we meet with, nine parts of ten are what they are, good or evil, useful or not, by their education." (from Some Thoughts Concerning Education)
Ideas on the Self
the self: "that conscious thinking thing, (whatever substance, made up of whether spiritual, or material, simple, or compounded, it matters not) which is sensible, or conscious of pleasure and pain, capable of happiness or misery, and so is concerned for itself, as far as that consciousness extends" (from An Essay Concerning Human Understanding)
Ideas and Influence
political philosophy (classical and modern liberalism, libertarianism) opposition to authoritarianism (both on the level of individuals and on the level of institutions such as church and government) religious tolerance, separation of church and state
Locke also influ源自nced...American revolutionaries and “Founding Fathers” (including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, George Washington, James Madison, George Mason and many others)
John Locke (16321704)
British philosopher, Oxford academic and medical researcher
In Brief...
known as the “Father of Classical Liberalism” one of the most important Enlightenment thinkers
Social Contract
What is the origin of society?
What is the origin of the authority of the state over the individual?
Locke influenced...
Voltaire (1694-1778): French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778): Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer
individual liberty (including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and free markets)
The Age of Enlightenment
about 1650 to about 1800 (also known as the Age of Reason)
revolution is a right (and sometimes an obligation)
introduction of money eliminates the limits of accumulation, inequality has come about by tacit agreement on the use of money supply-and-demand theory of value and price
other epistemological views...
Rationalism (any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification) Idealism (asserts that reality, or reality as we can know it, is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial) Historicism (assigns a central and basic significance to a specific context, such as historical period, geographical place and local culture)
a cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe and America who wanted to reform society and advance knowledge
promoted: science, intellectual interchange