John Locke Research Paper

John Locke Born on August 29, 1632, in Wrington, Somerset, England, John Locke is known as one of the most famous philosophers of the 17th century. He is often regarded as one of the greatest contributors to political theory, and was very influential in the areas of religious toleration, theology, and educational theory. Born to a legal clerk with a military background as a captain of the Parliamentarian side during the English Civil War of the 1640’s, John Locke was raised as a Puritan, an English reformed protestant aiming to purify the Church of England from all Roman Catholic Practices. As a teenager, Locke was admitted to the Westminster School of London, where he received an excellent education.

After his success at Westminster, Locke

Locke was a tutor to Anthony’s son during this time, and later became a personal physician to Lord Anthony (who later became the Earl of Shaftesbury). After performing an extremely delicate surgery on Lord Anthony, John Locke had gained credit to saving the Lord’s life. In doing so, he also earned governmental power through Anthony, mainly relating to policies in England’s American and Caribbean colonies. He remained connected to governmental affairs in his more advanced years, helping to steer the resurrection of the Board of Trade, which oversaw England’s new territories in America. It was during this time that Locke formed a close working relationship with Thomas Sydenham. Locke shared and defended many of Sydenham 's principles. Following this, he became close contacts with members of the Royal Society, and soon joined as a full member in 1668. In 1671, John Locke began the culmination of another one of his most famous works, the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, published in 1690. Following that, in 1675, he began the composition of one more famous piece of literature, Two Treatises Concerning Government, which was not published until 1689. It was on October 28, in the year 1704, that John Locke passed away due to a long life afflicted with delicate health. He died whilst Lady Damaris Masham, the daughter of

He continues to discuss how people relinquish their rights to a central point of authority to retain other rights. In the second chapter, he discusses how it is the obligation of the people to punish anyone who chooses to harm the rights of others. Locke continues to discuss how when a government decides to overstep its limits, the people have a responsibility to overthrow such a government. This is another aspect of Locke’s ideas that are incorporated into the Declaration of Independence- “That whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”

Following this, Locke calls for the institution of a new government, including three branches that he says must consist of a strong legislature and an executive official who cannot outstrip the lawmakers in power. This can be compared to Principles of Liberty numbers 16, “Government should be separated into three branches- legislative, executive, and judicial,” as well as 17, “A system of checks and balances best prevents abuse of