The Political Thought of John Locke: An Historical Account of the Argument of the 'Two Treatises of Government' [Paperback]

John Dunn (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521271398 | ISBN-13: 978-0521271394 | Publication Date: January 28, 1983

This study provides a comprehensive reinterpretation of the meaning of Locke's political thought. John Dunn restores Locke's ideas to their exact context, and so stresses the historical question of what Locke in the Two Treatises of Government was intending to claim. By adopting this approach, he reveals the predominantly theological character of all Locke's thinking about politics and provides a convincing analysis of the development of Locke's thought. In a polemical concluding section, John Dunn argues that liberal and Marxist interpretations of Locke's politics have failed to grasp his meaning. Locke emerges as not merely a contributor to the development of English constitutional thought, or as a reflector of socio-economic change in seventeenth-century England, but as essentially a Calvinist natural theologian.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'... a highly original and brilliantly argued study ... Dunn's approach yields something entirely new in Locke scholarship: a full-length portrait of Locke's mind, shown in its evolution in all its stresses and inconsistencies. The result is a book equally outstanding in its learning and its intelligence.' The American Historical Review

'... an outstanding book which should be read by every serious student of the history of philosophy for its historiographical good sense'. Philosophical Quarterly

'Important, fascinating.' Christopher Hill, Durham University Journal

Book Description

In this analysis Locke emerges as not merely a contributor to English constitutional thought or a reflector of the socio-economic change in seventeenth-century England, but as an essentially Calvinist natural theologian.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 28, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521271398
• ISBN-13: 978-0521271394
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #733,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Representative Thinker in Anglo-American Tradition, August 24, 2006

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Michael A Neulander "Political Philosophy" (VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Political Thought of John Locke: An Historical Account of the Argument of the 'Two Treatises of Government' (Paperback)

John Locke (1632-1704) wrote "Second Treatise of Government" in 1690, it was the main political philosophical source that our "Founding Fathers" went to in writing the "Declaration of Independence" and in forming our government. I think you should know something of Locke to understand what influenced his thinking. His father was a small landowner, attorney, Puritan and his political sympathies were with the Cromwell Parliament. Like Hobbes, Locke attended Oxford Univ. and did not think much about the curriculum or his professors. Most of his education came from reading books in the Univ. library. Renee Descartes and Sir Isaac Newton's writings greatly influenced Locke. Like Hobbes, he took a tutoring job teaching the son of the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, and traveled Europe. His friendship with the Earl was beneficial in obtaining government appointments. During the political unrest in England, (1679-83) he fled to Holland because his liberal notions put him at odds with the government.

Locke writes the "Second Treatise of Government" to justify the Revolt of 1688 and the ascension of William of Orange to the English throne. The book argues against two lines of absolutist ideas. The first is Sir Robert Filmer's "patriarchal theory of divine right of kings; secondly, Hobbes argument for the sovereign's absolute power in his book "Leviathan." Locke argues that government emanates from the people. Locke's treatise rests like other political writings on its interpretation of human nature. He sees our nature opposite the way Hobbes did, decent and not as selfish or competitive. Man is more inclined to join society through reason and not fear. Man prefers stability to change.

His very important contribution to "law of nature" theory was his bias toward individualism. In state of nature, before government, men were free independent, equal enjoying inalienable rights "chief among them being life, liberty, and property." Where have you read that before? Property rights receive much attention in this treatise. Locke argues that government based on consent of man can still preserve freedom independence and equality.

His political writing had immediate influence in the world and influenced our founding fathers in their struggle against tyranny. He is an excellent writer and his theories are easy to understand by the laymen. As a graduate student of political philosophy, I recommend if you have an interest in politics, philosophy, or government then you must read Locke's "Second Treatise of Government"