Name ,

Arz Mohammad

Submitted to ,
Sir M Asif

Topic ,
Philosophy of John Lock

History department university of Balochistan

 PHILOSOPHY OF JHON LOCK

“Successful revolutions are stimulating to those who believe in them. Locke is

the most fortunate of all philosophers for, he completed his work in theoretical
philosophy just at the moment when the Government of his country fell into the
hands of men who shared his political opinions. His political doctrine is
embedded in the American Constitution.”
 (Refer: Bertrand Russell political thought)

 Biography of John Lock

John Locke was born at Wrington in north Somersetshire in 1632. His father was
an attorney and land-owner of modest means. He got his early education at
home and later on he was admitted to Westminster School. In 1652, he was sent
to Oxford for higher education. At that time he was only twenty-two and entered
Christ Church College (Oxford). His university career was not very shining
because the narrow discipline of the place dulled his enthusiasm for formal
studies. In 1660, he got the degree of Master of Arts. After taking the M.A.
degree, Locke was appointed as a tutor in Greek.

Locke did not like teaching profession and he started medicine. He was greatly
influenced by Descartes and became physician. Later on he became the
confidential Secretary of Lord Shaftsbury, the founder of the Whig Dynasty. He
went over to the Parliamentary side and was later on made a field marshal in the
rebel forces. When Charles II became king, he was made Earl of Shaftsbury in
1672.

In 1682, Shaftsbury was charged with the crime of conspiracy. He was arrested
and tried for treason. He was, however, acquitted but was compelled to leave
England. Locke also facing his persecution fled with him to Holland and remained
there until the bloodless Revolution. After the glorious revolution of 1688, he
came under the liberalizing influences that were beginning to be felt in England
and he devoted his entire intellectual faculties towards literary work and to
numerous controversies arising out of his works.

Sabine attributes John Locke in these words, “his sincerity, his profound moral
convictions, his genuine belief in liberty in human rights, and in the dignity of
human nature united with his moderation and good sense, made him the ideal
spokesman of the middle-class revolution.”
 (Refer: Sabine; A history of political
theory)
Locke’s father, a renowned attorney of his time exerted a considerable influence
in making him zealous advocate of liberty, equality and democracy. Locke
completely discarded the Hobbes’s conception of man who depicted as utterly
selfish, irrational, solitary and brutish. He portrayed his men in the state of nature
fully possessed a sense of sociability bringing all men in togetherness of mutual
benefit and for the progress of civil society. He advocated for the elimination of
the coerciveness and intimidation over the subject for peaceful progress of the
state.

 Bases of his philosophy

 Sensationalism
Locke was of the view that all knowledge and beliefs come through our senses
and experiences. There is nothing in mind except what was first in the sense.

 Utilitarianism
He is one of the great pleader of utilitarianism. His conception is quite apparent
from his contention that “happiness and misery are the two great springs of
human action.” He was of the view that morality is pleasure and pleasure is only
conformity to universal law.
 Optimistic conception of human nature
Locke believes in the inherent goodness of human beings. He says that man is a
rational, sensible and social creature. He feels love, sympathy and tenderness
towards his fellow-beings and is capable of being actuated by altruistic motives.
He wants to live in peace and harmony with others.
 Rejection of Absolute Monarchy based on Divinity and Heredity
Locke refuted emphatically the hereditary principle in kingship advocated most
fervently by Filmer in his Patriarcha and upheld by the Anglican Church. Filmer
contended that political power is derived from the authority of father over his
children and that regal authority is subjection of children to parents, and since the
actual monarchs are the heirs of Adam, therefore they can demand from the
citizens unflinching loyalty. Locke points out the injustice of primogeniture (the
principle by which property descends to the eldest son) which is unavoidable if
inheritance is to be the basis of monarchy. Further, Adam can have only one
heir, but no one knows who he is. And if the true heir could be discovered, would
all existing monarchs put their crowns at his feet. Moreover, in case of this
discovery all kings except, at most one, would be usurpers and would have no
right to demand the obedience of their de facto subjects.

 John Lock vviews on natural rights of Human

Locke appears to be a true democrat when he says that the establishment of a

commonwealth stands for the complete security of natural rights of men. Natural
rights of citizens are:

I. Right to life
II. Right to liberty
III. Right to property

“Most distinctive contribution of Locke to political theory is the doctrine of natural

rights.”
(Refer; Dunning. )

Locke was of the view that the right of property is a most important because all
other natural rights are analogous to the right of private property. He further
maintained that the right to private property existed in the state of nature under
the operation of natural law. Locke thought of natural rights as things which man
brings with him from birth. Society exists to protect them; they can be regulated
only to the extent that is necessary to give them effective protection.

"The life, liberty and estate of one person can be limited only to make effective
the equality valid claims of another person to the same rights.”
 (refer; Sabine political thought)

According to Locke, “God, who has given the world to men in common, has also
given reason to make use of it to the best advantage of life and convenience.
The earth and all that is therein, is given to men for support and comfort of their
being and all the fruits it naturally produces and beasts it feeds, belongs to
mankind in common, as they are produced by the spontaneous hand of nature,
and nobody has originally a private dominion, exclusive of the rest of mankind, in
any of them, as they are thus in their natural state. Whatsoever he removes out
of the state that nature has provided and left it in, he ahs mixed his labor with and
joined to it something that is his own and thereby makes it his own property.”

 John Locke, s Conception of popular SSovereignty

Locke is regarded as the champion of people’s rights and a harbinger of their
sacred and fundamental liberties. His social contract did not create the
irresponsible, cruel and absolutist “Leviathan” of Hobbes, but reserved the
sovereign rights to the final judge of all actions, the community. The ultimate
supreme power is not vested in the scepter of king; but it remains in the hands of
the people.

Locke did not advance the idea of legal, absolute and indivisible sovereignty. The
very idea of it was discarded by him because Machiavellian and Hobbesian
conception of sovereignty brings about a reign of terror for the people who would
loudly whisper for freedom and equality. He initiated the conception of popular
sovereignty, which has been firmly accepted, a best way of rule by the
succeeding thinkers and the whole world own him too much, because real and
practical democracy was strongly enunciated.

Locke stood for a Government which should be subject to a number of

limitations. It cannot rule with coercion and intimidation and tax them without their
will. A government which violated its limitations is not worthy of obedience. The
state is created for certain conveniences and it must justify itself by creating
those conveniences.

 Ten(10)Major Contribution of Jhon Locke

He is regarded as the founder of modern philosophical empiricism, a concept
that the human mind is a blank slate at birth and that knowledge is based on
experience. Locke is also considered as the father of the political philosophy
called Liberalism, which is based on the principle of liberty and equality. His other
major contributions to philosophy include the development of the influential social
contract theory. Apart from epistemology and political philosophy, Locke also
made significant contributions to the fields of theology, religious tolerance and
educational theory. The writings of John Locke had a tremendous impact on
subsequent western thought and his influence remains even three centuries after
his death. Know more about the contributions of John Locke through his 10 major
accomplishments.
 Book, Essay CConcerning Human Understanding
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Title page of the first edition of An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
The most renowned work of John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human
Understanding, was published in December 1689. In the book, Locke examines
the human mind with respect to its contents and operations to uncover the basis
of human knowledge and understanding. The Essay is divided into four books.
Book I rules out the notion of innatism, that the human mind is born with ideas
and knowledge. Book II argues that all of our ideas, including that of God, come
from experience. Book III is concerned with language and the role it plays in our
theorizing. Book IV, the final part, focuses on knowledge in general and its
limitations. The Essay is regarded as one of the greatest books in philosophy and
it has had a huge impact on intellectual development, especially in Europe and
America. It is considered one of the most influential works with its ideas deeply
and profoundly affecting subsequent philosophical thought.
 The Founder of Modern Philosophical Empiricism
Empiricism is a theory that all knowledge is based on experience derived
from the senses. In the Essay, John Locke made the most elaborate and
influential presentation of empiricism. Thus, even though the concept had been
explored earlier, he is regarded by many as the founder of modern philosophical
empiricism. Locke postulated that, at birth, the mind was a tabula rasa, a Latin
phrase meaning “blank slate”. He maintained that humans are born without
innate ideas; and data is added and rules for processing are formed solely by
one’s sensory experiences. He also emphasized the freedom of individuals to
author their own soul. It must be noted that Locke was clear that the mind had
inherent capacities, predispositions and inclinations prior to receiving any ideas
from sensation. However, these are triggered only when it receives ideas from
sensations. Empiricism remains a major view in epistemology, the branch of
philosophy concerned with study of human knowledge.
 The Influential Political work two Treaties of Government

Two Treatises of Government by John Locke

Title page of John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government
Two Treatises of Government is a work of political philosophy by John Locke
which was published anonymously in 1689. The First Treatise is a detailed
critique of a work called Patriacha by Robert Filmer. In it, Locke attacks the
theory of Patriarchalism which emphasized the absolute right of the king, as the
paternal head of state. He undermines the scriptural support that Filmer has
offered to support his theory and he argues that Filmer’s thesis can lead only to
slavery. The Second Treatise has a number of themes which include the nature
of government, conquest and slavery, property and right of revolution. The Two
Treatise is the most important political work of John Locke, which has notably
influenced political thought since its publication.
 Developed the Labour Theory of Property

Locke’s Second Treatise has an influential account on the nature of private

property known as the labour theory of property. According to Locke, persons
own themselves and therefore their own labour. When a person works, that
labour enters into the object. Thus, the object becomes the property of that
person. Thus one has a right to acquire private property through one’s labour
with natural resources. However there are two conditions. The first is the Waste
Proviso which states that one must not own so much property that some of it
goes to waste. The second is the Enough-And-As-Good Proviso, also known as
the Lockean Proviso. It maintains that one may only appropriate property if “there
is enough, and as good, left in common for others”. In other words while
acquiring property one should not fail to leave sufficient resources for others and
no one should be worse off than they were before. The labour theory of property
was a forerunner to the famous labour theory of value of Karl Marx.
 His political Views IInfluenced the American Declaration of
Independence
In the Second Treatise, Locke has argued that humans were in a state of nature
before civil societies. While all men are free, state of nature is unstable as
individuals are under constant threat of harm. Locke claims that governments
were formed by them to preserve their inalienable natural rights to “life, liberty,
and property”. This was a social contract in which individuals would receive
protection from physical harm, security for their possessions etc. in return of
relinquishing certain rights. Thus rulers have an obligation to be responsive to the
needs and desires of the citizens; no ruler can claim absolute power; and, most
importantly, citizens are obliged to revolt and overthrow any government that fails
to secure their natural rights. Locke’s political views were influential in 18th-
century America and many regard them as the philosophical basis of the
American Declaration of Independence. It is known that many of the drafters,
particularly Thomas Jefferson, were well acquainted with Locke’s writings.
 Father of Liberalism
Liberalism is a political philosophy or world-view founded on ideas of liberty
and equality. It first became prominent in the west in the 18th century during the
Age of Enlightenment. Liberalism rejected the prevailing social and political
norms of hereditary privilege, state religion, absolute monarchy and the divine
right of kings. John Locke is credited with founding liberalism as a distinct
philosophical tradition. He developed the then radical notion that government
acquires consent from the governed and therefore authority is derived from the
people rather than from above. Locke emphasized the right of citizens to
overthrow a monarch who violates the social contract. He argued that “conjugal
society is made up by a voluntary compact between men and women”. He was
also a proponent of the separation of church and state; and of an individual
having the right to follow his own religious beliefs without a religion being
imposed by the state. For his contribution to the philosophy, John Locke is known
as the “Father of Liberalism”
 His iinfluences on European Education

During his time, John Locke was regarded as an expert on educational

matters. His most important work in the field is Some Thoughts Concerning
Education, which was published in 1693. As Locke believed that the human mind
at birth was a “blank slate”, he stressed that it was important for a child to make
the right associations. He wrote that “the little and almost insensible impressions
on our tender infancies have very important and lasting consequences.” Thus the
associations that one makes when young are the foundation of the self and more
important than those made later. This theory became known as “associationism”
and strongly influenced 18th century educational theory. The book also explains
how to educate the mind using three distinct methods: the development of a
healthy body; the formation of a virtuous character; and the choice of an
appropriate academic curriculum. Some Thoughts Concerning Education
remained the most important philosophical work on education in England for over
a century. It was translated into nearly all major European languages and almost
all 18th century European educational writers acknowledged its influence.
 Locke's Religious Writing IInfluences On Protestant and Christian
A Letter Concerning Toleration
Title page of the first edition of A Letter Concerning Toleration
The Reasonableness of Christianity, published in 1695, is the most important of
many theological writings of John Locke. The primary objective of the book is to
show that it is reasonable to be a Christian. Locke suggests that there is
sufficient reason to assume that the central truths of Christianity were
communicated to us by God through his messenger, Jesus of Nazareth. An
important feature of the book was that it says to be a true Christian and worthy of
salvation an individual only needs to believe one simple truth: that Jesus is the
Messiah. This was at a time when there were competing groups who laid the
requirements to attain salvation and Locke’s work was radical in the sense that
few theologians made the requirements for Christian faith so minimal. The
religious writings of Locke maintain that every individual has within him the
abilities necessary to comprehend his duty and to achieve salvation. John Locke
had a substantial influence on Protestant Christian thought for at least a century.
 Provided A Religious Tolerance

John Locke formulated a classic reasoning for religious tolerance which can
be seen in his Letters Concerning Toleration (1689–1692). Three arguments
were central to his reasoning: judges, state or human beings are not capable of
evaluating the truth-claims of competing religious standpoints; enforcing a single
religion would have an adverse effect as faith cannot be compelled by violence;
and coercing religious uniformity would lead to more social disorder than allowing
diversity. Furthermore, he believed that those holding political power were no
better at discovering the true religion than anyone else and so they should not
attempt to enforce their views on others. Locke did place a limit to tolerance
stating that any religious group which posed a threat to political stability or public
safety should not be tolerated. Locke’s writings on tolerance were very
progressive for the time. However, he believed that atheists should not be
tolerated as lack of faith made them untrustworthy and irresponsible.

 One of the greatest Western pphilosophers

John Locke is regarded as one of the most influential philosophers of

modern times. He founded the modern theory of Liberalism and made an
exceptional contribution to modern philosophical empiricism. He was also
influential in the areas of theology, religious tolerance and educational theory.
Other accomplishments of John Locke include making the first substantial inquiry
in the field of linguistics by examining the role of language in human mental life;
and being the first to explore modern concepts of identity and the self. Some of
the best known later philosophers, such as Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau,
David Hume and Immanuel Kant, built their philosophies on the foundation that
Locke had laid out. John Locke is considered the first philosopher of the Age of
Enlightenment. He hugely effected subsequent western thought and his influence
remains even three centuries after his death

REFERRENCES
 Fumerton, Richard (21 February 2000). "Foundationalist Theories of
Epistemic Justification"

 David Bostock, Philosophy of Mathematics: An Introduction, Wiley-Blackwell,

2009,

 John W. Yolton, Realism and Appearances: An Essay in Ontology,

Cambridge University Press, 2000

 Grigoris Antoniou, John Slaney (eds.), Advanced Topics in Artificial

Intelligence, Springer, 1998

 Claiborne Chappell (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Locke, Cambridge

University Press, 1994

 Locke, John (1690). Two Treatises of Government (10th edition): Chapter II,
Section 6. Project Gutenberg.
 Hirschmann, Nancy J., Gender, Class, and Freedom in Modern Political
Theory, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2009.

 Milton, John R. (2008) [2004]. "Locke, John (1632–1704)"