We tell you who John Locke was and what his contributions to philosophy were. In addition, we will discuss his relationship with empiricism and rationalism.
Locke was one of the thinkers of English empiricism.
Who was John Locke?
John Locke (1632-1704) was a 17th century English philosopher and physician known for being one of the representatives of empiricism and, at the same time, being the father of classical liberalism. His work influenced the works of thinkers as diverse as Voltaire (1694-1778), Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), David Hume (1711-1776) and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804).
His thought is linked to the origin of liberalism and the principle of tolerance., which advocates freedom of faith. He was one of the first empiricists to reject innatism and determinism, practicing an epistemology (theory of knowledge) based on experience.
He was influenced by René Descartes (1596-1650), Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655), Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and Shaftesbury (1671-1713). Among his best-known works are: Letter on tolerance (1689), Treatises on civil government (1689) and Essay on human understanding (1690).
Life of John Locke
John Locke Born on 29 August 1632 in Wrington, Somersetto a family of Puritan parents. He attended Westminster School in London and entered Christ Church, Oxford University, where, although he excelled as a student, he found greater interest in the works of modern philosophers, such as René Descartes, than in the traditional classical curriculum. His inclination towards medicine and experimental philosophy led him to join the Royal Society.
In 1656 he obtained his bachelor’s degree and in 1658 his master’s degree.During his time at Oxford, he also delved deeper into the field of medicine, working with notable scientists of the time such as Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke.
In 1667, became personal physician to Lord Anthony Ashley Cooperfirst Earl of Shaftesbury, an influential politician and philosopher. Locke’s relationship with Shaftesbury had a significant influence on his political ideas and led him to become actively involved in the politics of the time.
In 1683, The complicated political situation forced him to flee to the Netherlands.where he interacted with other intellectuals and dedicated himself to writing, resuming works, such as the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, and composing the Letter on tolerance. He returned to England after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
The last fourteen years of his life were spent at the Masham country house in Essex, where, Although his health fluctuated due to asthma attacks, he became a respected intellectual among the Whigs.During this time he engaged in discussions with such leading figures as John Dryden (1631-1700) and Isaac Newton (1643-1727).
John Locke died on October 28, 1704 and was buried in High Laver Cemetery, Essex. His ideas on natural rights and government were considered revolutionary for his time and had a lasting influence on political philosophy. His intellectual legacy endures to this day.
Thought of John Locke
Locke stands out for being one of the representatives of English empiricism and for being the father of political liberalism.
Locke’s empiricist thought postulates that knowledge comes from experience and reflection, rejects innate ideas and defends the importance of simple and complex ideas for the formation of knowledge. Furthermore, his view on the qualities of objects, substance, and degrees of knowledge contributed to grounding his epistemological approach.
Its main ideas are:
- Refutation of nativismLocke rejects the idea of rationalism and argues that there are no innate ideas in the human mind at birth. Instead, he argues that the mind is a blank slate that is filled with knowledge through experience.
- Experience as a source of knowledge. For Locke, all ideas come from experience, whether from sense perception (external experience) or from the mind’s reflection on itself and its contents (internal experience).
- Simple and complex ideasFor Locke, impressions are the simplest ideas that the mind passively receives from experience. However, by combining different types of impressions, the mind can form complex ideas.
- Limitations of knowledge. Locke maintains that there are questions about which one cannot have knowledge, such as the immortality of the soul or the superiority of one religion over another. This leads to the defense of religious tolerance in a context of conflicts between different confessions.
- Primary and secondary qualitiesLocke distinguishes between “primary qualities,” which correspond to real properties of objects, such as length or shape, and “secondary qualities,” such as color or taste, which are subjective and depend on human perception.
- SubstanceLocke introduces the idea of ”substance” as a substratum that supports the qualities of things. There are two types of substance: material or body (external objects) and spiritual or soul (support for internal operations).
- Degrees of knowledge. Locke distinguishes between three degrees of knowledge. Intuitive knowledge is the highest, where the agreement or disagreement of ideas is perceived immediately. Demonstrative knowledge involves establishing relationships between ideas through other auxiliary ideas. Sensitive knowledge refers us to individual existences and is more limited, based on beliefs and opinions.
Locke’s political thought, on the other hand, advocates democracy, the limitation of state power, the protection of individual rights, and the importance of social consent and agreement in the formation of government. His ideas laid the foundations of political liberalism and had a significant impact on the configuration of national states and global politics.
Some of his ideas are:
- Social contract and stateLocke uses the idea of a social contract to justify the existence of the State. In the state of nature, human beings are free and equal, but the lack of a common authority can lead to conflict. To ensure life, liberty, and private property, individuals agree to form a State through a contract of mutual consent.
- natural rights. Locke maintains that in the state of nature, men have natural rights, established by reason, which include the right to life, liberty and private property, the latter understood as what is obtained from the natural environment through work.
- Private property and civil societyFor Locke, private property is protected and secured by the State, once men unite in a civil society. In this society, a written law is established to define and protect natural rights, a judicial system is created to enforce the law, and a government is elected to carry out the agreed mandates.
- Division of powersLocke advocates the division of powers to avoid abuses by the government. The powers are divided into legislative (which establishes laws), executive (which applies them) and federative (which takes care of security and foreign relations).
- Political liberalism. Locke’s postulates lay the foundations of political liberalism, which seeks to protect individual freedoms and limit the power of the State. This approach contrasts with absolutism and favors the predominance of the bourgeoisie over the feudal nobility.
- Duty of resistance. For Locke, citizens have a duty to resist the government if it does not comply with its mandates. This can occur due to internal causes, such as the legislative branch subject to absolute power, or due to external causes, such as a foreign invasion.
Locke’s political ideas contributed to the consolidation of the parliamentary monarchy in England and became the basis of modern nation states. In addition, political liberalism spread to other territories of the world, including America, Asia and Africa.
Work of John Locke
Locke’s work includes publications on politics and on knowledge and epistemology, many of them republished during his lifetime, with variations and corrections in each reissue.
These are:
- Essays on civil government (1660-1662)
- Essays on the Law of Nature (1664)
- Essay on Tolerance (1667)
- Compendium of the Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1688) published in the Bibliothèque universelle edited by Jean Leclerc.
- Letter on tolerance (1689)
- Treatises on civil government (1689). Republished in 1690, 1698 and 1713.
- Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
- Second Letter on Tolerance (1690)
- Some Considerations on the Consequences of the Reduction of the Rate of Interest and the Rise in the Value of Money (Written in 1668 and published in 1691).
- Third Letter on Tolerance (1692)
- Some thoughts on education (1693)
- Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)
- A vindication of the rationality of Christianity (1695)
- More considerations about the rise in the value of money (1695)
Reception of Locke’s work
Academic reception of Locke’s thought has been diverse and has generated both criticism and praise. His empiricist approach, which emphasized sensory experience as the basis of human knowledgewas the subject of debate and gave rise to several schools of thought in philosophy.
One of the most influential philosophers who incorporated Locke’s ideas into his philosophical system was David Hume. Hume developed a radical critique of human knowledge based on experience., and his epistemological skepticism was greatly influenced by Locke. Although Hume took Locke’s ideas to more radical extremes, he recognized his importance as a precursor to his own philosophy.
Another notable philosopher who was inspired by Locke’s thinking was Immanuel Kant. Kant recognized the importance of Locke’s distinction between innate ideas and ideas acquired through experience.However, Kant also criticized some aspects of Locke’s philosophy and developed his own theory of knowledge, known as transcendental idealism.
In the realm of political philosophy, Locke’s ideas also had a lasting influence. Montesquieu (1689-1755), a French philosopher of the Enlightenment, drew heavily on Locke’s theory of the separation of powers in his work Law spirit. Montesquieu adopted the Lockean notion of balance of powers to develop his theory on political organization and the system of government.
In addition to Hume, Kant and Montesquieu, Many other philosophers have read and discussed Locke’s thought in their works.. Examples include Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who was inspired by Locke’s ideas on natural rights and the social contract; George Berkeley (1685-1753), who developed an idealist critique of the theory of…