John Locke E-Book

50MINUTES

• Herausgeber: 50Minutes.com
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: History
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 30

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Keen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the philosophy of John Locke in next to no time with this concise guide.

50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of John Locke. Inspired by great philosophers such as Hobbes and Descartes, Locke sought to respond to the problems of his era through his philosophy. Outraged at the persecution of Protestants by the monarchy in England, he advocated religious tolerance, and believed that power should be in the hands of the people to guarantee their individual rights and freedoms, a principle which is the basis of all modern-day democracies.

In just 50 minutes you will:
• Learn about the life, travels and works of the highly influential English philosopher, John Locke
• Understand the principles of empiricism and economic liberalism
• Discover Locke’s continued influence on modern democracies, including on the American Constitution and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

ABOUT 50MINUTES.COM | History & Culture
50MINUTES.COM will enable you to quickly understand the main events, people, conflicts and discoveries from world history that have shaped the world we live in today. Our publications present the key information on a wide variety of topics in a quick and accessible way that is guaranteed to save you time on your journey of discovery.

Leseprobe

John Locke

Key information

Born: 29 August 1632 in Wrington, Somerset.Died: 28 October 1704 in Oates, Essex.Context: The Glorious Revolution and the English Civil War (1642-1689).Main areas of interest:empiricismsocial contract theoryliberalismthe separation of church and stategovernmental separation of powers.

Introduction

John Locke was a philosopher and scientist, and is considered to be one of the greatest 17th-century English thinkers. However, his reflections on political philosophy were what he spent most of his time on and owed most of his reputation to.

Drawing inspiration from the works of his predecessors, such as Thomas Hobbes (English philosopher, 1588-1679) and René Descartes (French physicist and philosopher, 1596-1650), Locke developed his thoughts, using empiricism as a starting point. He cultivated a philosophy according to which senses and experience are behind all knowledge of the world. Secondly, human beings can only develop the understanding needed to comprehend complex ideas on the basis of this empiricism.

Additionally, the political and religious turmoil that marked his era and that personally affected him caused him to envisage a new conception of power, exercised by the people and for the people. He also campaigned for the separation of church and state, as well as for religious tolerance. His reflections developed over time, and he published his major works in relatively quick succession: A Letter Concerning Toleration and Two Treatises of Government were published in 1689, and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding was published in 1690. Locke thus developed a philosophy whose influence is only comparable to that of Plato (Greek philosopher, 427-348/7 BC), and which continues to be the basis of our political systems and of liberalism.

Biography

Portrait of John Locke.

A taste for learning

John Locke was born on 29 August 1632 in Wrington, near Bristol, and spent his childhood nearby. His family were Puritans of the lower nobility. His father was a landowner and a lawyer, and his grandfather was a fabric merchant. Locke had a strict and austere education. In 1647, he entered the prestigious Westminster School in central London, thanks to the influence of Alexander Popham (English politician and Member of Parliament, 1605-1669), under whose command his father had served during the First Civil War (1642-1646). There he learnt ancient languages, including Hebrew, which was reserved for the school’s best-performing pupils. However, he did not particularly enjoy it.

In 1652, again with Popham’s support, Locke won a scholarship to study at Christ Church, Oxford University, with a view to becoming a minister. However, he disliked the teaching he received there and was more interested in the new sciences: physics, astrophysics and mathematics. But medicine was what interested him the most, and he began to study it keenly. Locke revealed himself to be a true, curious intellectual who would more happily focus on studying than on anything else throughout his life.

In the early 1660s, he also taught at the Church School as a professor of Greek, rhetoric and moral philosophy.

The beginnings of a political fight

In the meantime, in 1659 he wrote a letter in which he protested against excessive religious tolerance and criticised Catholics for obeying both the Church and the state. Subsequently, however, he changed his mind during a diplomatic mission to the state of Brandenburg (in modern-day Germany) in late 1665, where he observed that the peaceful coexistence of religions was not only possible, but also beneficial.

In 1666, he met Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper (1621-1683), who was appointed 1st