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John Locke Research Paper

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Recommended: A comparative analysis of thomas Hobbes and john locke conception of social contract theory

At the end of the seventh century, the greatest theorist of political liberalism was the Englishman John Locke. With his writings drew attention in the field of politics. In 1690 they were published Two Treatises of Government (1690). The first was a refutation of government by divine right; the second was against Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan, published in 1651, which defended the social contract that was granted the State sovereignty.(“Tuckness”) For the latter, this was a necessity, since otherwise Thus anarchy and self - interest would lead to a war situation, converting natural life of man in "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short."(“THOMAS”) Locke opposed this opinion and reasoned that "the contract is between freemen and therefore the …show more content…

Here it is proposed to seek the origin, certainty and extent of human knowledge. His intention was to apply the scientific method of his time to the study of mental operations. "Francis Bacon himself had not explored in depth the relationship between ideas and experience. It was Locke who continued the Baconian empiricism developed, which can be considered a precursor of the empirical psychology. " (Bowen, J.) Locke makes a classic formulation of English empiricism, as it tries to prove that the human mind no innate ideas. The mind is a blank page in which the senses record the information reaching the outside world and those resulting from the activity of the mind. This is what Locke calls "reflection". He denies all existence of absolutes, except mathematicians and those belonging to the moral order of things. In short, we can only know the reality and truth by experiencing is only reflected in the logical …show more content…

It denies the state the right to intervene in the religious field. A year later he published Treatise on Civil Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. It was his strike into the world of politics from the philosophical point of view. It aimed to provide alternatives to the model that existed at that time . His concern for the economic, political and religious issues led him to write Some Considerations On The Impact of Low Interest (1692), Thoughts on Education (1693) and The Rational Christianity

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John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were early English philosophers who each had very different views on the roles of the government and the people being governed. Their interpretations of human nature each had a lasting and vast impact on modern political science. Locke believed that men had the right to revolt against oppressive government. “‘Being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”

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The historical development of the world from 1690 to 1830 wouldn’t be what it was if it weren’t for John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. Locke’s Second Treatise not only sparked individualism, but also revolutions, and was a guide to the creations of declarations around the world. Two main revolutions and declarations that Locke’s ideas inspired were the American Revolution and the French Revolution.

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Edelene C. Zamora December 18, 2014 AP European History: Block B Ms. Milkovich The English savvy and authority who tries to consider illustrations for the world as we know it, John Locke (1632-1704) laid an uncommon bit of the reason for the understanding and made focal redesigns and increments to the change of radicalism. Orchestrated in pharmaceutical, he was a key supporter of the truthful and observational methodologies of the Scientific Revolution. In his "Work Concerning Human Understanding," he progressed an enlightenment of the self as a sensible page, with information and character climbing just from gathered experience. His political explanation of government by the approbation of the oversaw as an intends to ensure "life, flexibility

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John Locke’s major philosophies included the Social Contract and the Second Treatises of Government which influenced the Constitution of the United States. John Locke expressed his ideas on human nature and government in his famous Social Contract and The Second Treatise of Government which greatly influenced James Madison to write The Constitution of the United States. According to, (What life would be like in a “State of Nature”,2017), John Locke had no doubt that the State of Nature has a law in which everyone must follow. Those fundamental rights consist of the right to life, liberty, and property. Human Nature results in individuals living without government, which allowed Locke to believe life without government will provoke violence

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It states“All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”. John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government outlines Locke’s personal opinion on how a government should act as an entity, and how it should respond to the people. Locke’s work has been an inspiration for several governments including England and the U.S. because of his popular ideas of a minimal government ran by the people. In Two Treatises of Government Locke states,“Whensoever, therefore, the legislative [power] shall transgress [go beyond; break] this fundamental rule of society, and either by ambition, fear, folly, or corruption, endeavor to grasp themselves, or put into the hands of any other, an absolute power over the lives, liberties, and estates of the people, by this breach of trust they forfeit the power the people had put into their hands for quite contrary ends, and it devolves [passes] to the people; who have a right to resume their original liberty, and by the establishment of a new legislative”.

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Not only does this statement defend the people’s rights to property, but it also defends the people’s right to oppose the government when the government no longer protects these rights. In his Letter Concerning Toleration, Locke states that “nobody ought to be compelled in matters of religion either by law or force,” (A Letter Concerning Toleration), corresponding with the First Amendment, which calls for freedom of religion and separation of church and state. There, it says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or

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All the new technologies affected the solders one way or another, for instance, the trenches, solders would see the enemy 's coming yes but, also they had to sustain living in mud & filth, littered dead soldiers, and constant fear of attack. Soldiers that survived suffered from psychological problems. Also, poison gas, the gas caused severe problem.

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John Locke wrote his book The Second Treatise of Government in 1690 paving the way for modern liberalism in which we know today. He is regarded as the father of classical liberalism with his ideas of equality and man’s right to govern themselves and there children, dismissing the idea of a ruling government with all the power. His ideas at the time challenged the system and a need for a monarchical government making the choices for its people, leaving those choices up to men themselves. His ideals in all aspects where revolutionary and time changing for the 1690’s. When talking about liberalism, one must talk about John Locke who wrote about the idea of personal liberty or “to be free from any superior power on earth” (Second Treatise, §22).

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However, this statement is not entirely true, if one mixes what one owns with what one does not own, it does not create self-ownership. Locke’s state of nature is then tainted and no longer includes equality and commonality among mankind. Locke repeats himself often in his arguments. He refers to his belief of natural reason and God’s words to deliver his theory of private property. He begins his discussion of property in the state of nature (Locke 6 sect.

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These ideas were expressed in his “Tabula Rasa Theory of Human Behavior”. In his writing, Locke says,”Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas—How comes it to be furnished? Whence comes it by that vast store which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it with an almost endless variety? Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from experience.”

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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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In John Locke’s, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke develops an argument for the existence of God. In the the following paper, I shall first reconstruct Lockes’ argument for his claim of God’s existence. I shall then identify what I take to be the weakest premise of the argument and explain why I find it in need of justification. The following is a reconstruction of Lockes’ argument: 1) Man has a clear perception of his own being 2)

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In contrast, Locke believes, that knowledge can only have a high degree of certainty but cannot be certain. Since he does not focus much on certainty in his works, he believes that perception can play a major part in the process of knowledge. He further reiterates that knowledge is based on observations and senses. According to his him, ideas come from reflection and sensation while knowledge is founded on experience In summary, I have covered the respective positions and views that both Locke and Descartes hold in respect with self-identity and consciousness.

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Introductory Paragraph (description of theory) John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) is a English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thinkers and known as the "Father of Classical Liberalism”. Locke got a scholarship to Oxford University where he spent 30 years at Oxford, studying, tutoring, and writing. He wrote influential political science and philosophy. Locke 's famous theory had to do with the Social Contract theory. The Social Contract covers the origin of government and how much authority a state should have over an individual.

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He said, “Therefore I doubt not but children, by the exercise of their senses about objects that affect them in the womb, receive some few ideas before they are born” (Locke, 1690, p. 134). He previously argued that one is born with tabula rasa mind like empty paper; however, he later acknowledged that children are born with ideas. Therefore, Locke’s claim showed contradiction. Based on the research, rationalists’ view of innatism that people are born with certain knowledge is more

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