Locke: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) [Paperback]

John Dunn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Very Short Introductions | Publication Date: July 31, 2003

John Locke (1632-1704) one of the greatest English philosophers of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, argued in his masterpiece, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, that our knowledge is founded in experience and reaches us principally through our senses; but its message has been curiously misunderstood. In this book John Dunn shows how Locke arrived at his theory of knowledge, and how his exposition of the liberal values of toleration and responsible government formed the backbone of enlightened European thought of the eighteenth century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`Review from previous edition 'lucid and lively ... offers a rich insight into the triumphs and tragedy of the source of English ideology'' New Society

About the Author

John Dunn is a Fellow of King's College and Professor of Political Theory at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of The Political Thought of John Locke, Western Political Theory in the Face of the Future, Modern Revolutions, and The History of Political Theory, and the editor of Democracy: The Unfinished Journey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Updated edition (July 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192803948
• ISBN-13: 978-0192803948
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the key to Locke, January 5, 2008

By 

Peter Reeve (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Locke: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)

Locke was a hugely important thinker, and his work was very influential, in fact dominant, in the early stage of the Enlightenment. He was a particularly strong influence on Voltaire and Rousseau, and his arguments on individual liberty were later to guide the American Founding Fathers. It is difficult to overrate his importance as one of the founders of modern philosophy. It is even more difficult to gain any insight into this from reading Dunn's book.

The problem is that Dunn cannot write. He may well have a thorough understanding of Locke's work, but he is not letting on. This does not matter so much in the early part of the book, which deals with Locke's biography, but in the latter part, dealing with the philosophy, Locke's thought is rendered entirely opaque by Dunn's prose. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what is at fault. The structure and meaning of individual sentences are sound enough, but they are assembled into paragraphs that don't actually tell us much. For example, we learn that Locke's proof of the existence of God would not impress many modern readers, but we are not told what that proof is. The blurb on the cover tells us that Locke's message has been 'curiously misunderstood', but the book itself does not explain how or why.

After forcing my way through this book, I spent an hour or so on the Internet and learned far more about the subject. I recommend you do the same.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short version of masterpiece of Locke scholarship, August 22, 2008

By 

Carolyn Paul (Malvern, AR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Locke: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)

Admittedly Dunn is not an easy read, but then who said intellectual history was always easy. Dunn is the author of one of the most important and subtle books on Locke, The Political Thought of John Locke. It is also very expensive and much more difficult a read than this introduction. It was part of the great reappraisal of Locke after the Laslett edition and a masterpiece of the Cambridge contextual school of intellectual history perhaps most associated with Quentin Skinner. These texts are difficult because they don't give simplistic usable history; rather, they try to understand what the authors were actually doing in the text. If this is not your cup of tea, then certainly forget this book. If you're interested in profound scholarship on a budget, this just might be the ticket. Fantastic book.