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John Locke: “The Philosopher of Freedom” Since the beginning of recorded history, many influential [political] theorists have contributed greatly to the formation of various governments and societies, as well as issues dealing with humanity in general. One theorist of significant importance, especially to the creation of the United States government, is none other than John Locke. Locke, who was one of the greatest philosophers in Europe at the end of the seventeenth century, was strongly opposed to authoritarianism on both the individual level as well as the societal level. Locke believes that if people use reason to find the truth and determine what functions of a government are legitimate, that human life will flourish (Uzgalis). Two of Locke’s most important works include, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and The Second Treatise on Civil Government. The life of John Locke, the importance and content of the previously mentioned works, and their overall influence on the west will be discussed in detail. John Locke was born on August 29, 1632 (to Puritan parents) in Wrington, a village located in Somerset (Great Britain). Locke’s father was a lawyer and also served as a captain for the Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War (Uzgalis). His mother was the daughter of a tanner who was said to be very beautiful. Locke was baptized the same day he was born and shortly after his birth, his family moved to Pensford, and Locke grew up in the rural village of Belluton. In 1647, Locke was sent to the famous Westminster School, located in London (Uzgalis). After completing Westminster, Locke went to Christ Church College at Oxford. Locke was a gifted student; however he was discontent with the curriculum of his time (which authorities did not appreciate). He was interested in the modern philosophers of the time, not the classical material that was being taught (Uzgalis). Locke earned his bachelor’s degree in 1656 and his master’s degree in 1658. He also studied medicine and in 1667 Locke moved into Lord Ashley’s (eventually Earl of Shaftesbury), home and served as his personal doctor (although he didn’t receive his degree in medicine until 1674). Locke was not only Shaftesbury’s personal doctor, but he was his “secretary, researcher, political operative and friend” (Uzgalis). The influence of Shaftesbury helped to shape Locke’s political thought and also placed him at the very heart of English politics in the 1670s and 1680s. Shaftesbury appointed Locke to several minor government positions and in 1669, as one of his official jobs, Locke wrote a constitution for the Carolina Colony in North America (Uzgalis). In 1671 Locke began to write one of his most famous works, the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which took his almost twenty years to complete due to his heavy involvement in Shaftesbury's political affairs. In 1675, after Shaftesbury lost his political positions, Locke left for England where he studied with several French scientist and philosophers (Uzgalis). After returning to England in 1679, Locke returned to Oxford where he stayed until he fled to Holland (in 1683) after being suspected of being involved in the Rye House Plot. While in Holland, Locke finished his Essay Concerning Human Understanding in 1690 and in the same year, he published his Two Treatises on Civil Government (Uzgalis). After these works were published, Locke earned the reputation as the “leading philosopher of freedom”. After a prolonged decline in his health, Locke died in 1704 and was buried in Essex. As previously mentioned, the Essay Concerning Human Understanding is one of Locke’s most famous and influential works. This essay is broken down into four books, which explain the theory of knowledge. The first book called “Of Innate Ideas” attacks the Cartesian view of knowledge that states that human beings are born with the ideas that they have. Locke’s argues against the possibility of “innate propositional knowledge” and then continues by arguing against the possibility of innate ideas such as God. After arguing against the Cartesian view, Locke gives his own theory of the origins of knowledge. Most simply put, Locke says we develop our opinions from life experiences. In the second book, Locke describes his theory of ideas. His argument is that everything in our mind is an idea, and that all ideas come in through the senses or through reflection. In this book, Locke also explains that people have two types of ideas, simple and complex ideas (on which simple ideas are the building blocks for complex ones. In the second book, Locke also makes the distinction between primary and secondary qualities in their relation to people’s ideas.  Locke switched gears in the third book and begins a discussion of the philosophy of language.  Locke claims that words stand for ideas and relies heavily on his theory of ideas to support this claim. Locke also says that if there is not a clear or definite idea that our words refer to we should not use those words.  Finally, Locke says that all people should use the same words to refer to the same things, and that this will keep language from leading people astray. 	The final book of Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding is titled "Of Knowledge and Opinion," and as the title suggests, explains the theory of knowledge. Locke begins by defining knowledge as “the perception of strong internal relations that hold among the ideas themselves, without any reference to the external world”. In other words, knowledge depends on the perception of a necessary connection. In this book, Locke also lists the four relationships between ideas that he would count as knowledge. They include, identity, relation, coexistence, and actual existence. Locke identifies three different grades of knowledge with intuition as the highest, followed by demonstration, and finally sensitive knowledge. The rest of book four discusses opinions, and Locke says that gaining a better opinion of the world is a good thing, but that one must understand that opinions will never reach the level of knowledge. Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding is primarily concerned with issues in epistemology and metaphysics (SparkNotes Staff). Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that is concerned with knowledge, belief, and thought. Metaphysics on the other hand is the philosophy related to what there is in the world (i.e. God) (SparkNotes Staff). During a time of great skepticism, Locke laid the foundation that other British Empiricists such as George Berkeley, Thomas Reid, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant, used as a basis their own work (SparkNotes Staff). Locke’s other and equally famous work is The Second Treatise on Civil Government and has been described as a cornerstone of Western political philosophy. Locke begins by making the point that no one can claim certain rights, because it is not possible to locate heirs of Adam. He also defines political power as the right of “making laws and penalties of death, and consequently all less penalties for the regulation of property….and all this only for the good of the public good” (Locke). The state of nature is the major topic Locke discusses, and is a state in which everyone is equal and no-one has power over anybody else. People are in this state of nature until the form some type of pack. Locke defines the state of war as “of enmity and destruction”, which brings about the law of self-preservation to protect ones self. He also says that the state of war and the state of nature explaining they are not the same. Locke says that the natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power and that the only time slavery is acceptable is during a state of war. The next discussion is about various types of power. Locke says that paternal power is necessary until the child is old enough add a meaningful contribution to society. When it comes to civil power, or marriage, the man and then woman have power over everyone else in the household. And finally when it comes to political power, Locke says that no one ever outgrows his authority. Next, Locke talks about the beginning of political societies and how they form from the majority. Following the beginning of political societies, Locke talks about the ends of political society and says that people give up their natural freedoms to protect their interests. After forming societies, the people must choose the form of government they are going to use (oligarchy, hereditary monarchy, elective monarchy, etc.). To Locke, the legislative power is very important, and says that the legislative power must preserve the society, follow established laws, not raise taxes without consent of the people, and cannot transfer the power of law making. Locke says that legislation should only be in session when there is need for a new law; on the other hand, the executive branch should always be in session, and the federal power which should also be in session handles international affairs. Next, Locke points out that the legislative power is most powerful, but the people are still above it. Finally, Locke defines tyranny as the “exercise of power beyond right” and says that a good leader is bound by the legislative power and has the duty of working for the people. Locke says that when the need for the dissolution of a government comes about, that the people become free, and form a civil-state to avoid chaos and eventually form a new legislative power. Perhaps the most important point that Locke makes in his Second Treatise on Civil Government when the governing abuse the power the people have entrusted them with, the people should rebel against their government and replace it with one that will serve them appropriately (Carmichael). This joining of “ideas--consensual, limited government based upon natural human rights and dignity, and unlimited personal property, based on those same rights, makes the Second Treatise a perfectly-constructed argument against absolutism and unjust governments” (Carmichael). It appeals both to abstract moral notions and to a more grounded view of the self-interest that leads people to form societies and governments (Carmichael). John Locke was not afraid to challenge the notion of Divine Right to advance the rights of life, liberty, property, and religious tolerance for all people. It wasn’t until the end of his life that Locke’s philosophy began to take hold in the minds of many Europeans (Kunze). However, his ideas of liberty spread to America and took root in the minds of many colonists who then demanded the rights they were denied. It is the opinion of some that the part of Locke’s writing that most influenced the creation of the United States constitution was the idea that the power to govern was given with the permission of the people (Kunze). Without the influence of Locke, the United States Constitution would most likely be profoundly different than it is today.

Work Cited Carmichael, James. “ Locke's Second Treatise on Civil Government.” 2006. SparkNotes. 1 May. 2006 . Kunze, Fred. “A Biography of John Locke.” From Revolution to Reconstruction. 2005.     Department of Humanities Computing. 30 Mar. 2006  SparkNotes Staff. “ Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding.” 2006. SparkNotes. 1 May. 2006 . Uzgalis, William. “John Locke.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2001. Stanford University. 30 Mar. 2006 