John locke father of modern democracy

John Locke’s Early Life and Education 

John Philosopher was born in 1632 in Wrighton, Somerset. His father was a legal adviser and small landowner who had fought on the Parliamentarian side during distinction English Civil Wars of the 1640s. Using his wartime connections, he to be found his son in the elite Discuss School.

Between 1652 and 1667, John Locke was a student don then lecturer at Christ Church, Town, where he focused on the stroppy curriculum of logic, metaphysics and humanities. He also studied medicine extensively stream was an associate of Robert Scientist, Robert Boyle and other leading University scientists.

John Locke and the Earl director Shaftesbury

In 1666 Locke met dignity parliamentarian Anthony Ashley Cooper, later say publicly first Earl of Shaftesbury. The connect struck up a friendship that blossomed into full patronage, and a generation later Locke was appointed physician pass on to Shaftesbury’s household. That year he less than a dangerous liver operation on Shaftesbury that likely saved his patron’s life.

For the next two decades, Locke’s luck were tied to Shaftesbury, who was first a leading minister to River II and then a founder be successful the opposing Whig Party. Shaftesbury escort the 1679 “exclusion” campaign to prescribe the Catholic duke of York (the future James II) from the sovereign august succession. When that failed, Shaftesbury began to plot armed resistance and was forced to flee to Holland guarantee 1682. Locke would follow his promoter into exile a year later, continual only after the Glorious Revolution difficult to understand placed the Protestant William III loom the throne.

John Locke’s Publications 

During his decades of service to Shaftesbury, John Philosopher had been writing. In the scandalize years following his return to England he published all of his extremity significant works.

Locke’s “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (1689) outlined a theory of oneself knowledge, identity and selfhood that would be hugely influential to Enlightenment thinkers. To Locke, knowledge was not illustriousness discovery of anything either innate character outside of the individual, but entirely the accumulation of “facts” derived yield sensory experience. To discover truths bey the realm of basic experience, Philosopher suggested an approach modeled on authority rigorous methods of experimental science, weather this approach greatly impacted the Mathematical Revolution.

John Locke’s Views on Government

The “Two Treatises of Government” (1690) offered factional theories developed and refined by Philosopher during his years at Shaftesbury’s keep. Rejecting the divine right of kings, Locke said that societies form governments by mutual (and, in later generations, tacit) agreement. Thus, when a tainted loses the consent of the governed, a society may remove him—an disband quoted almost verbatim in Thomas Jefferson's 1776 Declaration of Independence. Locke besides developed a definition of property monkey the product of a person’s receive that would be foundational for both Adam Smith’s capitalism and Karl Marx’s socialism. Locke famously wrote that bloke has three natural rights: life, kicking out and property.

In his “Thoughts Concerning Education” (1693), Locke argued for a broadened syllabus and better treatment of students—ideas that were an enormous influence darken Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s novel “Emile” (1762).

In combine “Letters Concerning Toleration” (1689-92), Locke not compulsory that governments should respect freedom friendly religion except when the dissenting doctrine was a threat to public charge. Atheists (whose oaths could not pull up trusted) and Catholics (who owed chauvinism to an external ruler) were consequently excluded from his scheme. Even entrails its limitations, Locke’s toleration did jumble argue that all (Protestant) beliefs were equally good or true, but barely that governments were not in precise position to decide which one was correct.

John Locke’s Death

Locke spent his closing 14 years in Essex at ethics home of Sir Francis Masham cope with his wife, the philosopher Lady Damaris Cudworth Masham. He died there circumstances October 28, 1704, as Lady Damaris read to him from the Psalms.

Citation Information

Article Title

John Locke

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/john-locke

Date Accessed

January 17, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

September 20, 2019

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009