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Discussion Of John Locke's State Of Morality

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According to Locke, State of nature is a state where all people are equal and independent, and it gives a right to the other believers/followers to punish the transgressors of that state. Locke believes that the state of nature, a state that excludes any law, includes morality. The people who follow state of nature should not harm others in their “life, health, liberty and possession.” and these are the rights each person has. He believes that all humans possess morality naturally. Morality is about respecting each others rights. Since Locke is a philosophical and biblical constitutionalist, he believes that the moral or natural rules are universal and they are distinguished by reason, but God, who is the superior can alter the rules according …show more content…

Since this essay was written in the 1600’s, majority of the population believed in Christianity, which is why Locke considered the Lord as a superior who could change the natural rights by considering one person superior to the other. This belief is now regressive, considering the different religions people follow or don’t follow (atheists), not a lot of people will follow natural rights because God said so. Locke believes that God has the ultimate say for natural rights, and following him would be morally acceptable as he is the superior. But if we compare the situation in the 1600’s to the situation now morality has little or nothing to do with what God …show more content…

This justice is brought on by the people itself. Looking at the crime of the offender, people give him a suitable punishment so that the offender does not commit the same crime again nor do other people dare to commit it too. How does one know that it is a crime, it could be that the person unkowingly did something ‘wrong’ and he or she is being punished for a crime they didn’t know they committed. He assumes that humans know the difference between what is morally acceptable and what is not, it could also be a matter of opinion too, a thing that is morally correct for someone, could be morally wrong for another. Morality doesn’t have a set of rules, it is just a quality Locke expects everyone to

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In a segment of, Of the State of Nature in Document A, John Locke writes, “We must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions...within the bounds of nature.” In, Of the Dissolution of Government, one part of the segment is, “The people are at liberty to provide for themselves.” All of the evidence is from John Locke himself. He wrote both of the books, Of the State of Nature and Of the Dissolution of Government. Both segments of the document include people having the choice to their own

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In his Second Treatise of Government, Locke revealed his interests in new science, developing theories of education and knowledge (SMW, 34). One of the main points in his Treatise is that of the law of nature, where all men are in natural state of perfect freedom (SMW, 34). Locke argues, “Men being…by nature all free, equal, and independent,

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Locke’s view on this was that all decisions are based on morality. That it was God’s commands that they should

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Additionally, his view of equality makes a better case based on the fact that it was not inadequate to the political realm. Locke also emphasized on religious toleration except atheism. Moreover, he also supported the general toleration of religious beliefs and at the same time remained pessimistic with the ex-communication of non-believers. Locke's political and religious understanding of life played an essential role in influencing his understanding of equality (Broers 1). In this case, these things put in the picture his moral code and also give details of the seemingly opposing ideas of his thinking.

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He was extremely critical of the fervent behavior of people concerning their religious beliefs, particularly of those with “intemperate zeal” (Locke, Toleration, 9) who would attempt to convert others to their faith. As Locke points out, this is even true among criminals, because society requires a certain level of predictability to function. In his own words, he worked to pour out a “scorching irony” to expose the evil of slavery (1852b, FDLW v.2: 192). The term ‘separation of Church and State’ was coined by Thomas Jefferson, who was greatly influenced by Locke’s writings. He sought to demonstrate that it was cruel, unnatural, ungodly, immoral, and unjust.

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In his later years, he devoted his time to theology and wrote his major work in the field called The Reasonableness of Christianity. It was to be published anonymously in the year of 1695. This work of John Locke’s was controversial because he argued that many beliefs traditionally believed to be mandatory for Christians were unnecessary.

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The Church had been using his power to persecute the marginals who had differences of beliefs and force them into conformity. For Locke, a liberal society is a tolerant society. In his view, consent is the key to society, which is the opposite

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He divided property into two ways, private and common. Locke believes that God is in charge of the world. In chapter v. of property, Locke states, “God, who has given the world to men in common, has also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage in life, and convenience.” Locke used labor to say common is a way to private property. By a man doing labor, he can call property private.

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removed the definitions of the rights he had been given in terms of what threatened them lost their bearings and at the same time their content (Mead, 1915). Once man committed wrong, he equivalently enters to the state of war which I insist to be a situation where man already dethrones natural rights he have. Locke is right when he mentioned that he that in the state of nature would take away the freedom that belongs to any one in that state must necessarily supposed to have a design to take away everything else, that freedom being the foundation of all the rest (Prometheus Books , 1986). No man has the right to use natural right for the sake of performing wrong for the betterment of the society. Speech of man supposed to be the powerful

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John Locke formulated theories insinuating religious tolerance. He stated that earthly judges including the state and individuals should not evaluate truths pertaining to religious leanings. Religion should not be induced on people and no single religion should be passed as being genuine. Violence cannot be effectively used to compel people towards a religious orientation. Trying to enforce religious uniformity would kill diversity and create social disorder (Broers 1).

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John Locke is an enlightened political philosopher whose explanations to his ideas remains profoundly influential. Locke believes people should have the right to do anything they want without the government enforcing them to do a task. In The Second Treatise, Locke discusses some vital concepts of his thinking, beginning with a discussion of the State of Nature. He explains that humans move from a state of nature characterized by perfect freedom and are governed by reason to a civil government in which the authority is vested in a legislative and executive power. In the State of Nature, men are born equal, to have perfect liberty to maintain.

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The State of Nature, although a state wherein there is no civil authority or government to punish people for transgressions against laws, is not a state without morality. To Locke, persons are assumed to be equal to one another in such a state, and therefore equally capable of discovering and being bound by the Law of Nature. The Law of Nature, which is on Locke’s view the basis of all morality, and given to us by God, commands that we not harm others with regards to their life, health, liberty, or possessions. This is because we all belong equally to God, and because we cannot take away that which is rightfully His, we are prohibited from harming one another. So, the State of Nature is a state of liberty where persons are free to pursue their own interests and plans, free from interference, and, because of the Law of Nature and the restrictions that it imposes upon persons, it is relatively peaceful.

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In the Two Treatises of Government (1689), he defended the claim that men are naturally free and equal against claims that God had made all people naturally subject to a monarch. With both biblical and philosophical justifications, Locke argued in defense of constitutionalism. He believed God gave Adam natural rights like; life, liberty, and property in the book of Genesis and Adam passed it on to the rest of

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He proclaims the state of nature in which everyone is born free and equal. “It is also a state of equality, in which no-one has more power and authority than anyone else” (Locke, 3). Everyone is familiar of the natural laws, in which maintaining peace and abstaining from harming others was a duty. This was an essential piece in preserving human race. “To do as much as he can to preserve the rest of mankind” (Locke, 4).

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Brogan’s work John Locke and Utilitarianism, Brogan interprets Locke’s Essay with the endeavor of elucidating on Locke’s liberal ideals on what should be considered the standard of morality. “The standard or criterion of morality (or “virtue”) is the good (interpreted as the happiness) of all” (Brogan, pg. 80). Locke has an egoistic notion of morality, in which the self-interest of others is what constitutes morality for him--and ultimately the greatest good, which extends to public happiness. “Locke is an empiricist in holding that the materials of knowing and choosing come from external senses or from the internal perceptions of the operations of the mind (within which are included pleasure and pain)” (Brogan, pg. 93).

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