John Locke's The Second Treatise Of Government

Who is John Locke? John Locke, English Philosopher and political theorist, created many an influential works that undoubtedly changed the world for the better. His basic founding principles focused on the ideas of “together with the grounds of belief, opinion, and assent.” His philosophy was based upon the ideals of life, liberty, and the acquisition of property. His most basic beliefs were cemented in the belief of the power of the individual and their natural rights as asserted in John Locke’s work The Second Treatise of Government. John Locke is a highly intellectual character with a diverse background plagued by some hardship yet, at the same time always active in the scholarly community. John Locke Born on August 29th in 1632 in Somerset,

Importantly, John Locke understood the ability, capacity, and limitations of knowledge. John Locke’s philosophy is most personified in his essay An Essay Concerning Human Understanding Book I: Innate Notions where he declares “Perhaps then we shall stop pretending that we know everything, and shall be less bold in raising questions and getting into confusing disputes with others about things to which our understandings are not suited”. Furthermore, in John Locke’s essay titled The Reasonableness of Christianity he states “ that there was any other doctrine upon their assent to which, or disbelief of it, men were pronounced believers, or unbelievers, and accordingly received into the church of Christ, as members of his body, as far as mere believing could make them so.” This describes Locke’s view on the ideas of faith and its value in human nature. John Locke is a complex character who embodied the enlightenment contributing to sciences, philosophy, and politics. He himself was a man interested in the human mind whether through the philosophical lens or through the physical lens. He operated in many government posts due to his vast political skills which made him perfectly suited for such