The first of these two highly influential documents refutes the concept of monarchy's divine right. The second argues for a broad acceptance of alternative religious convictions. The basis of social and political philosophy for generations, these books laid the foundation of the modern democratic state in England and abroad.
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About the Author
John Locke (1632–1704), widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social contract theory. His work had a great impact upon the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the American Declaration of Independence. Locke's theory of mind is often cited as the origin of modern conceptions of identity and the self, figuring prominently in the work of later philosophers such as Hume, Rousseau and Kant. Locke was the first to define the self through a continuity of consciousness. He postulated that the mind was a blank slate or tabula rasa. Contrary to pre-existing Cartesian philosophy, he maintained that we are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience derived from sense perception.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most Representative Thinker in Anglo-American Tradition,
This review is from: The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration (Dover Thrift Editions) (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"
5.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)
Very good book if you need it for a college class or just learn about the law of nature. It is recycled and Eco-friendly!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Short Must Read,
By bzerknorseman (Minnesota Norse, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)
A short must read for anyone desiring to know what was bouncing around in the founding father's heads during the American revolution, and what philosophies inspired them to write the founding documents. So inexpensive, it can sit on your bookshelf while you read all of the writings we as Americans live by, which this book helped inspire. };>{>
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6
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- Locke (The Routledge Philosophers) by E.J. Lowe in Back Matter
- Political Philosophers of the Twentieth Century by Michael Lessnoff on page 267
- Living Issues in Philosophy, Ninth Edition by Harold Titus on page 153
- Multicultural Questions by Christian Joppke on page 157
- Ethics of Emerging Technologies: Scientific Facts and Moral Challenges by Thomas F. Budinger on page 34
See all 6 books citing this book
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