John Locke
John Locke
John Locke (1632–1704) was an English philosopher and physician of the Enlightenment, often called “the Father of Liberalism” for his influence on modern ideas of government by consent. Educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, he studied medicine and in 1667 joined the household of Lord Ashley, later the Earl of Shaftesbury, as physician and adviser, a turning point that drew him into public affairs. Political turmoil led him to spend several years in the Netherlands before returning to England in 1689. That year and the next he published his major works: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which traces knowledge to experience; Two Treatises of Government, which argues that people hold natural rights to life, liberty and property and that government rests on the consent of the governed; and A Letter Concerning Toleration. His ideas shaped constitutional government and echo in the American Declaration of Independence.
Latest UpdatesLIVE
Western Philosophy from Augustine to Kant
Augustine of Hippo drew on Platonic philosophy to frame Christian thought, and Thomas Aquinas later united Christian theology with the philosophy of Aristotle. In the seventeenth century, René Descartes made methodical doubt the starting point of modern philosophy, Blaise Pascal explored the limits of reason, and John Locke grounded knowledge in experience. Immanuel Kant then sought to reconcile these rationalist and empiricist traditions.
31 followers
31 followers
133 followers
4 followers
4 followers
133 followers
