Locke in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series)
In this addition to his popular series of miniature introductions to the great philosophers, Paul Strathern takes on John Locke, one of the first major empiricists. As always, Strathern does an excellent job of putting the philosopher and his work into historical context:Locke in 90 Minutesis particularly strong on showing how the turbulence of English politics during the mid-1600s set Locke on the road to philosophy and shaped his ideas on democracy. He provides clear summaries that demonstrate how Locke's empiricism was informed by the scientific spirit of the times as well as the more metaphysical ruminations of Descartes (though he would veerverysharply from the conclusions of his French near-contemporary). And there are several examples of Strathern's caustic wit, as in his description of Locke's long epistolary relationships with women as "a sort of Chinese water torture by correspondence."