John Locke
1632 -
1704 was an
medical researcher,
physician,
political operative,
economist and
idealogue for a
revolutionary movement, as well as being one of the great philosophers 16-1700s
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John
Locke was born in
Bristol,
England, on
August 29,
1632.
Locke's father was an
attorney who collected taxes from seaport towns. He wanted his son to become a
minister, but Locke rejected this and studied
medicine.
Locke entered
Oxford University in England and was influenced by
John Owen, Dean of
Christ Church College. It was Owen who first introduced Locke to the idea of
religious freedom and the idea that people should not be punished for having different views of
religion. Locke believed that all sides had the right to be heard. Moreover, he felt that all
conflicts could be solved if the two groups could settle their differences by seeking
middle ground and
compromise.
After college, Locke continued to study and read with passion. He expressed his views about freedom of religion and the
rights of citizens. In
1682 his ideas were seen by the English government as a challenge to thie King's authority. He fled to
Holland, and then returned to England in
1689 after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 brought
William of Orange and Mary to the throne. Shortly thereafter, Locke began publishing his writings, many of which focused on
government.
Throughout his writings, Locke argued tha people had the gift of
reason, or the ability to
think. Locke thought they had the natural ability to govern themselves and to look after the well being of society. He wrote, "The
state of nature has a
law of nature to govern it, which {treats} everyone {equally}.
Reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind... that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health or possessions."
Locke did not believe that
God had chosen a group or family of people to rule countries. He rejected the "
Divine Right", which many kings and queens used to justify their right to rule.
Instead, he argued that
governments should only operate with the consent of the people they are governing. In this way, Locke supported
democracy as a form of government. Locke wrote, "{We have learned from} history we have reason to conclude that all peaceful beginnings of government have been laid in the consent of the people." Governments were formed, according to Locke, to protect the
right to life, the
right to freedom, and the
right to property. The rights were absolute, belonging to all the people. Locke also believed that government power should be divided equally into three branches of government so that politicians will not face the "temptation... to grasp at {absolute} power." If any government abused these rights instead of protecting them, then the people had the right to
rebel and form a new government.
John Locke spoke out against the control of any man against his
will. This control was acceptable neither in the form of an unfair government, nor in
slavery. Locke wrote, "The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only have the law of nature for his rule." In addition, Locke felt that women had the ability to reason, which entitled them to an equal voice - an unpopular idea during this time in history.
above is slightly modified from http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/constitution/locke-bio.html
He believed that
morality was set down by god and was absolute. The U.S.
constitution relies heavly on his writings.
In
1690 he managed to invent 8 new words... all in one sentence. "...to show how much distinct names conduce to our well reckoning, let us see all these following figuers in one one continued line:--
Nonillions Octillions Septillions Sextillions Quintillions Quadrillions Trillions Billions Millions" (millions was not his invention. The others were).
Also a forerunner of
behaviorism he will be mentioned in any child
psychology textbook. Locke veiwed the child as a
tabula rasa, or blank slate. In his veiw children start out neither
evil nor
good, and are shaped by their parents.
"The child repeatedly beaten in school cannot look upon books and teachers without experiencing fear and anger."