John Locke

John Locke (; 29 August 1632 - 28 October 1704), known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician. His writings on the theory of social contract influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, and the American revolutionaries. His ideas are mentioned in the American Declaration of Independence.
Locke's theories were usually about identity and the self. Locke thought that we are born without thoughts, and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience.
Biography
Locke's father, who was also named John Locke, was a country lawyer. He had served as a captain in the early part of the English Civil War. His mother, Agnes Keene, was a tanner's daughter and was thought to be very beautiful. Both mother and father were Puritans.
Locke was born on 29 August 1632, in a cottage by the church in Wrington, Somerset, about twelve miles from Bristol. He was baptized when he was born. After that, his family soon moved to Pensford.
Education
In 1647, Locke was sent to Westminster School in London. During this time he was being sponsored by Alexander Popham, a member of the Parliament. After finishing his studies there, he went into the Christ Church. Although Locke was a good student, he did not like the schedule of the time spent there. He did not like the classical subjects taught at the university, and wanted to learn more about modern philosophy. Through his friend Richard Lower, whom he had met at the school, Locke learned about medicine, because his friend Richard Lower taught it to him.
Locke was awarded a bachelor's degree in 1656 and a master's degree in 1658. In 1666, he met Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper, who had come to Oxford seeking treatment for his liver disease. Cooper was impressed with Locke and asked him to come.
Works
Locke had been looking for a job and in 1667 moved into Shaftesbury's home at Exeter House in London, to serve as Lord Ashley's personal physician. In London, Locke continued his studies on medicine.
Locke's medical knowledge was put to the test when Shaftesbury's liver disease became worse until Shaftesbury was about to die. Locke used the advice of several physicians and persuaded Shaftesbury to go to an operation. Shaftesbury lived through the operation and thanked Locke for saving his life.
Shaftesbury, as a member of the Whig movement, was a big influence on Locke's political ideas. However, after Shaftesbury began to fall from favor in 1675, Locke decided to travel across France. He came back to England in 1679. At this time, due to Shaftesbury's insists, Locke wrote the Two Treatises of Government. While it was once thought that Locke wrote the Treatises to defend the Glorious Revolution of 1688, recent scholarship has shown that the work was composed before this even started.
Move to the Netherlands
However, Locke ran away to the Netherlands in 1683. This is because people became suspicious of him being involved in the Rye House Plot to assassinate King Charles II of England. In the Netherlands, Locke had time to return to his writing, spending a great deal of time re-working the essay. Locke did not return home until after the Glorious Revolution. Locke came with William of Orange's wife back to England in 1688.
Return to England
Locke's close friend Lady Masham invited him to join her at the Mashams' country house in Essex. Although his time there was marked by variable health from asthma attacks, he nevertheless became an intellectual hero of the Whigs. During this period he discussed matters with such figures as John Dryden and Isaac Newton.
Death
He died on 28 October 1704, and is buried in the churchyard of the village of High Laver, east of Harlow in Essex, where he had lived in the household of Sir Francis Masham since 1691. Locke never married nor had children.
Events during lifetime
Events that happened during Locke's lifetime include the English Restoration, the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London. He did not quite see the Acts of Union 1707 though the thrones of England and Scotland were held in personal union throughout his lifetime. Constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy were in their infancy during Locke's time.
Related pages
Glorious Revolution
Political economy
References
Further reading
Other websites
Works
Links to online books by John Locke
The Works of John Locke
1823 Edition, 10 Volumes on PDF files, and additional resources
1824 Edition, 9 volumes in multiple formats
John Locke Manuscripts
Updated versions of Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Second Treatise of Government, edited by Jonathan Bennett
Locke, Two Treatises of Government, ed. Thomas Hollis (A. Millar et al., 1764) See original text in The Online Library of Liberty
Resources
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Locke
John Locke Bibliography
John Locke's Theory of Knowledge by Caspar Hewett
The Digital Locke Project
Portraits of Locke
Locke links
A complex and positive answer to question Was Locke a Liberal? - by Jerome Huyler
Timeline of the Life and Work of John Locke at The Online Library of Liberty
Locke on Property: A Bibliographical Essay by Karen Vaughn The Online Library of Liberty.
1632 births
1704 deaths
17th-century English philosophers
English Anglicans