John Locke: English Philosopher & Physician Born August 29, 1632 Died October 28, 1704

John Locke
English philosopher & physician
born August 29, 1632

died October 28, 1704
“where there is no law, there is no

freedom”
Contents
Personal & Historical Background
• Glorious Revolution
Important Works
Two Treatises of the Government

• State of Nature
• Human Nature
• Property
• Social Contract
• Government (3 Branches)
 English philosopher whose works lie at the foundation of
modern philosophical empiricism and political liberalism
 "Father of Liberalism“
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy

based on liberty, consent of the governed,
and equality before the law
 He was an inspirer of both the European
Enlightenment and the Constitution of the United
States
 Much of what he advocated in the realm of politics
was accepted in England after the Glorious
Revolution of 1688–89 and in the United States after
the country’s declaration of independence in 1776.
 His political thought was grounded in the notion of a
social contract between citizens and in the
importance of toleration, especially in matters of
religion.
Early Years
 Locke was 10 years old at the start of the English Civil Wars
between the monarchy of Charles I and parliamentary forces
 Locke’s father, a lawyer, served as a captain in the cavalry of the
parliamentarian
 he attacked boarding schools for their overemphasis on corporal
punishment and for the uncivil behavior of pupils
 He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1656 and a master’s
two years later
 had received his degree of bachelor of medicine from Oxford
and been appointed to a medical studentship at Christ Church.
NOTABLE WORKS
 “Two Treatises of Government”

 “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”
 “Essays on the Law of Nature”
 “The Reasonableness of Christianity”
 “Two Tracts on Government”
 “Some Thoughts Concerning Education”
 “A Letter Concerning Toleration”
 he became actively involved in various political
projects, including helping to draft the English Bill of
Rights, though the version eventually adopted by
Parliament did not go as far as he wanted in matters
of religious toleration.
 The Glorious Revolution (Bloodless Revolution) was
the deposition of the English and Scottish king James
II and VII in November 1688 and replacement by his
daughter Mary II and her Dutch husband William III of
Orange.
Two Treatises of Government
(1689)
 was a response to the political situation as it existed

in England
The first treatise
 The first treatise was aimed squarely at the work of

another 17th-century political theorist, Sir Robert
Filmer whose Patriarcha defended the theory of
divine right of kings
 Locke claims that Filmer’s doctrine defies “common
sense.”
The second treatise
 places sovereignty into the hands of the people

Chapter I
 political power as a right of making Laws with

Penalties of Death, and consequently all less
Penalties, for the Regulating and Preserving of
Property
 It is a “right” of making laws and enforcing them for
“the public good.”
HUMAN NATURE
 humans are entirely free
 But this freedom is not a state of complete license,
because it is set within the bounds of the law of nature
 It is a state of equality
 No natural hierarchy among humans
 Each person is naturally free and equal under the law of
nature, subject only to the will of “the infinitely wise
Maker.”
 Like Hobbes, Locke believed that human nature allowed
people to be selfish.
 In a natural state all people were equal and independent,
and everyone had a natural right to defend his "life,
health, liberty, or possessions".
state of nature
 all men are free "to order their actions, and dispose of
their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the
bounds of the law of nature."
 "The state of Nature has a law of Nature to govern it", and
that law is reason. Locke believes that reason teaches that
"no one ought to harm another in his life, liberty, and or
property
 Placing the right to punish in each person’s hand may lead
to injustice and violence – remedied if humans enter into
contract with each other to recognize by common consent
a civil government.
 natural law governs behavior, and each person has license
to execute that law against someone who wrongs them by
infringing on their rights
Property
 Each person, according to Locke, has property in his own person—

that is, each person literally owns his own body. Other people may
not use a person’s body for any purpose without his permission. But
one can acquire property beyond one’s own body through labor.
 By mixing one’s labour with objects in the world, one acquires a
right to the fruits of that work. If one’s labour turns a barren field
into crops or a pile of wood into a house, then the valuable product
of that labour, the crops or the house, becomes one’s property.
 Locke’s account of property and how it comes to be owned faces
difficult problems. For example, it is far from clear how much labour
is required to turn any given unowned object into a piece of private
property.
property is a natural right and it is derived
from labour
 Locke’s view was a forerunner of the labour theory of

value, which was expounded in different forms by the
19th-century economists David Ricardo and Karl Marx
labour theory of value
 labour expended in the creation of goods gives them

their value
social contract
 individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly,

to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to
the authority (of the ruler, or to the decision of a
majority) in exchange for protection of their
remaining rights or maintenance of the social order
 people established a civil society to resolve conflicts
in a civil way with help from government in a state of
society
consent
 Express consent is given through positive

engagement such as taking up citizenship. Those who
expressly consented are bound by their oath.
 Tacit consent is when one benefits from any
possession or enjoyment of any part of the dominion
of any government.
3 Branches of Government
Locke describes a state with a separate judicial, legislative, and executive
branch
 Executive - People need executive power to protect

their property and defend their liberty.
 Legislative branch - the most important of the three,
since it determines the laws that govern civil society.
- impose such taxes as are required to fulfill the ends
of the state—including, of course, its defense
 Judicial
DISSOLUTION OF GOVERNMENT
 People have the right to dissolve their government, if that

government ceases to work solely in their best interest.
The people would be justified in overthrowing a monarchy
which abuses the trust they had placed in it.
 If the executive power fails to provide the conditions
under which the people can enjoy their rights under
natural law, then the people are entitled to remove him, by
force if necessary. Thus, revolution, in extremis, is
permissible—as Locke obviously thought it was in 1688.

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John Locke

English philosopher & physician

born August 29, 1632

“where there is no law, there is no

Two Treatises of the Government

Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy

 “Two Treatises of Government”

 was a response to the political situation as it existed

 The first treatise was aimed squarely at the work of

 places sovereignty into the hands of the people

 political power as a right of making Laws with

 Each person, according to Locke, has property in his own person—

 Locke’s view was a forerunner of the labour theory of

 labour expended in the creation of goods gives them

 individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly,

 Express consent is given through positive

 Executive - People need executive power to protect

 People have the right to dissolve their government, if that

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