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John Locke's State Of Nature

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Chapters two and three regard Locke on the state of nature and the state of war of man. According to Locke, the original state that all men are in is a state of perfect freedom and also in a state of equality. According to Locke, no one man is born with advantages or powers “unless the Lord and Master of them all should by any manifest declaration of his will set one above another” (Locke 269). To support his own ideas, Locke quotes the judicious Hooker, who the equality of men the basis of his ideas on mutual love amongst men. Hookers ideas basically state that if one wants his own needs to be satisfied by others, he must first satisfy their needs. Locke then moves on to explain that it is imperative to respect the life, health, liberty, …show more content…

This includes slavery, in which the attempt to take away one’s freedom is an action that places the two in a state of war. Next he informs readers that it is lawful to kill a thief because already taken away the victim’s liberty, so why should he not next take his life? Therefore, one who decides to steal from another has in return placed the two in a state of war. Locke argues that there is a clear difference between the state of nature and the state of war. The state of nature is living peacefully with the authority to judge actions of others. The state of war, on the other hand, occurs when one man uses force to destroy the life, health, liberty, and/or possessions of a peer. The two coincide because the “want of a common judge with authority, puts all men in a state of nature: force without right, upon a man’s person, makes a state of war” (Locke 281). Due to the lack of a common judge, the state of war will only end when the victim destroys the aggressor, or the aggressor offers peace and desires reconciliation. He concludes chapter three with a biblical reference of Jephtha and the Ammonites to prove that above situations involving the state of war can be resolved by the presence of government and a common judge showing no

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Both King Louis XIV’s Versailles and John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government are imbued with ideas that are substantiated by divine providence in one form or another. In Versailles, this idea is that of the King’s divine reign which validates Louis XIV’s kingship. Locke, on the other hand, suggests all men are born inherently equal into God’s state of nature and have a right to liberty. While both Locke and Louis XIV substantiate their arguments through divine authority, their claims as to what God ordains is markedly different; Locke is claiming that all people must adhere to the law of nature but can chose to consent to government—thus discrediting the divine right of kings which is exactly what Louis XIV tries to convince his subjects of

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Locke stated that people were born with natural rights, the right to life, liberty, and property. One of the most famous quotes from the Declaration of Independence states those rights as, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Thomas Jefferson, the writer of that quote got his idea from John Locke. Another grand idea modified from one of Locke’s, was the people’s power to overthrow the government- in a legal way of course. John Locke, according to ushistory.org, stated that citizens could overthrow their government if it failed to protect their three natural rights.

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The American Revolutionary War came about after decades of grievances on the part of the American colonies, grievances which were put in place by the British Parliamentary system. The lack of American representation in parliament paired with the multitudes of acts designed to take advantage of the colonies were cause enough for the colonies to revolt and to overthrow their government. There are few who would disagree with the American’s justification for the revolution, would Locke be one of them? No he would not, the American colonies were fully justified under Lockean reasons for revolution, considering how long they endured the grievances and the legislature that was passed against them.

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Locke believed that the citizens had a right and responsibility to overthrow an unjust government. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson says, "That whenever any form of

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All of the Enlightenment thinkers shared something in common. During the late 17th and 18th century in Europe, well-educated people met to discuss political, religious,economic, and social question. What were the Enlightenment thinkers main idea? The main thinkers of the Enlightenment are John Locke, Adam Smith, Voltaire, and Mary Wollstonecraft. They all shared a main idea of natural rights.

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Locke had stated that when an executive act for his own benefit, and not to serve the ends of the people. He “degrades himself” and becomes “but a single private person without power,” at which point he no longer has any right to rule over the people. Locke expresses the idea of rebellion against an unjust government. By giving the idea of rebellion, he also reveals that a human’s rights have changed over the years and that a man now has inherent rights. It was because of his declaration that the statement, “give me liberty or give me death,” become popular among the American people.

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The price for attaining freedom and equality is often steep, and some individuals even give up their life in the cause of freedom. It is from some of these martyrs’ actions that John Locke’s renowned rights of life, liberty, and property are secured for everyone

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John Locke was a key figure in the Enlightenment (which was at its peak at the time of the revolution), who stated that the government’s duty was to secure the rights of the people with the consent of the governed. If the government fails to do its duty, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to create a new one. Essentially, this was what the American Declaration of Independence revolved around; it calls out King George III on his acts that violates their values of equality and their unalienable rights and declares the independence of the thirteen

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In attempting to solve this problem, I hope to move beyond notions of hypocrisy and instead to investigate Locke’s personal contradictions from a theoretical level. This effort is motivated by the conviction that there is an inherent contradiction,

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Locke does differentiate between tyranny and legitimate power, and individuals believing that there is tyranny under these branches when a law that they don’t agree with, is

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John Locke was a philosopher and political scientist. He had many interests and produced a number of writings that influenced future leaders. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, who was involved with the aid of America and the act gaining independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence and Locke’s views on government contain many similar aspects. These ideas includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (natural rights); the protection that is provided by the government for these rights; and the altering or abolishment of government if it fails to provide and protect the rights of the people.

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Politics Assignment John Locke  Human nature: men are not wholly selfish, they sometimes work for the good of others and cooperate with each other. On the other hand, they can be egotistical.  Only law that should govern the people: no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions. There would be no reason for men to leave this state of nature and form societies. But there are difficulties in applying punishment for those who transgress the law 

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COMPARISON BETWEEN TO THOMAS HOPPES AND JOHN LOCKE VIEWS ON STATE OF NATURE Introduction Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704) were both political philosophers. They are mainly known for their master pieces on political philosophy. I.e. Hobbes' Leviathan and Locke's Two Treatise of Government. Each of them has different views and perspective of the State of Nature and Social Contract.

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During the Glorious Revolution, the political system in England changed from absolute monarchy to the rule of parliament, which only supports Locke’s criticism regarding tyranny. “Men living together according to reason, without a common superior on earth with authority to judge between them is properly the state of nature.” (Locke, Second treatise) This reflects on Locke’s claim that men are by nature free and that God created all people naturally subjected to

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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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