John Locke was a hugely influential English philosopher of the 17th Century whose ideas,
particularly in the realm of political philosophy, are still hugely relevant today.
Born in 1632, Locke is an important figure of the early European Enlightenment, and certainly
many of his ideas and a considerable influence on later major Enlightenment thinkers such
as Immanuel Kant, David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Since he was a polymath, who wrote
and thought on an extremely broad range of interests, this talk will focus on his contributions
in three main areas - epistemology, political philosophy and religious toleration.
Firstly, epistemology. Locke, following in the tradition of the likes of Francis Bacon,
was an empiricist. Indeed, probably his best known work, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689)
is one of the first great defenses of empiricism and concerns itself with determining the limits
of human understanding in respect to a wide spectrum of topics. As he argues, “No man's
knowledge here can go beyond his experience.” It thus tells us in some detail what one can
legitimately claim to know and what one cannot. Linked to this is Locke’s so-called theory
of mind, which is often cited as the origin of modern conceptions of identify and the
self. Lock was the first to define the self through a continuity of consciousness, arguing
that the mind was a tabula rasa (blank slate), which became filled with knowledge deriving
from experience, observation and experimentation. This was in contrast to the pre-existing Cartesian
philosophy, which stated that we are born with innate ideas.
Secdonly, political philosophy. Locke’s writings on political philosophy should be
considered against the volatile and often violent background in Britain in the second
half of the 17th Century. The Civil War, the establishment of the commonwealth, the restoration
of the monarchy, the Glorious Revolution and the advent of the Bill of Rights, where the
supremacy (or ‘sovereignty’) of parliament as opposed to the monarchy was finally established.
Locke’s most important political work was Two Treatises Concerning Government was published
in the same year as the Bill of Rights, although Locke had written it much earlier. In it he
shows himself to be strongly against absolutism (in contrast to Hobbes) and in favour of the
separation of Church and State. Locke’ political philosophy was deeply influenced by social
contract theory, and can be very briefly summarised as follows:
Firstly, an individual is born into a state of nature, where each person had God-given
natural rights that are not subject to any kind of government. Like his predecessor Thomas
Hobbes, Locke believed that human nature was inherently selfish, but unlike Hobbes Locke
believed human nature to be characterised by reason and tolerance.
Secondly, this state of nature is unstable, and individuals are at risk from physical
harm. This means that they are unable to purse any goals requiring stability or cooperation
with others.
Thirdly, in such conditions, government arises since individual see the benefits which can
be gained by relinquishing a number of their rights to a central authority. This takes
place in the form a contract. The impact of Locke’s political thought,
and his fundamental belief in the right to life, liberty and property, can be seen very
clearly in the United States Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution around
a century later. Locke also advocated governmental separation of powers and believed that revolution
is not only a right but an obligation in some circumstances. He is often known as the “father
of classical liberalism”, with quotations such as the following supporting this notion:
“The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.”
Thirfdy, religious toleration. The 17th century was not only a time of political upheaval,
but also of religious turmoil, in particular the European wars of religion. In terms of
his own beliefs, Locke was broadly protestant, and he thought that the entire content of
the Bible was in agreement with human reason. He considered the idea of enforcing a single
‘true religion’ on people could never have the desired effect because belief cannot
be compelled by violence, and indeed coercing religious uniformity would lead to more social
disorder than allowing diversity. Ironically, although Locke was an advocate of tolerance,
he urged the authorities not to tolerate atheism, because he thought the denial of God's existence
would undermine the social order and lead to chaos.
In summary, although many argue that Locke’s influence during his own lifetime was negligible,
his influence on later Enlightenment writers, and the modern-day political institutions
of many Western countries, was very significant.