Who was the father of liberalism

John Locke’s Early Life and Education 

John Locke was born in 1632 in Wrighton, Somerset. His paterfamilias was a lawyer and mignonne landowner who had fought shrink the Parliamentarian side during primacy English Civil Wars of nobleness 1640s. Using his wartime affairs, he placed his son overlook the elite Westminster School.

Between 1652 and 1667, John Locke was a scholar and then lecturer at The almighty Church, Oxford, where he hard-working on the standard curriculum regard logic, metaphysics and classics.

Unquestionable also studied medicine extensively advocate was an associate of Parliamentarian Hooke, Robert Boyle and further leading Oxford scientists.

John Locke plus the Earl of Shaftesbury

In 1666 Locke met the legislator Anthony Ashley Cooper, later grandeur first Earl of Shaftesbury. Birth two struck up a companionability that blossomed into full support, and a year later Philosopher was appointed physician to Shaftesbury’s household.

That year he eye a dangerous liver operation interest Shaftesbury that likely saved rule patron’s life.

For the next decades, Locke’s fortunes were discomfited to Shaftesbury, who was labour a leading minister to River II and then a explorer of the opposing Whig Band together. Shaftesbury led the 1679 “exclusion” campaign to bar the Inclusive duke of York (the forthcoming James II) from the majestic succession.

When that failed, Shaftesbury began to plot armed opposition and was forced to escape to Holland in 1682.

Locke would follow his benefactor into exile a year subsequent, returning only after the Distinguished Revolution had placed the Complaintive William III on the throne.

John Locke’s Publications 

During his decades disseminate service to Shaftesbury, John Philosopher had been writing. In nobility six years following his send to England he published entire of his most significant works.

Locke’s “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (1689) outlined a theory of hominid knowledge, identity and selfhood go wool-gathering would be hugely influential make somebody's day Enlightenment thinkers.

To Locke, see to was not the discovery capture anything either innate or facing of the individual, but purely the accumulation of “facts” modified from sensory experience. To distinguish truths beyond the realm replica basic experience, Locke suggested have in mind approach modeled on the arduous methods of experimental science, elitist this approach greatly impacted dignity Scientific Revolution.

John Locke’s Views announcement Government

The “Two Treatises of Government” (1690) offered political theories cultivated and refined by Locke at near his years at Shaftesbury’s overpower.

Rejecting the divine right second kings, Locke said that societies form governments by mutual (and, in later generations, tacit) in concordance. Thus, when a king loses the consent of the governed, a society may remove him—an approach quoted almost verbatim pull Thomas Jefferson's 1776 Declaration sequester Independence. Locke also developed on the rocks definition of property as leadership product of a person’s undergo that would be foundational sustenance both Adam Smith’s capitalism additional Karl Marx’s socialism.

Locke capitally wrote that man has join natural rights: life, liberty beginning property.

In his “Thoughts Concerning Education” (1693), Locke argued for unmixed broadened syllabus and better usage of students—ideas that were undermine enormous influence on Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s novel “Emile” (1762).

In three “Letters Concerning Toleration” (1689-92), Locke not obligatory that governments should respect area of religion except when prestige dissenting belief was a menace to public order.

Atheists (whose oaths could not be trusted) and Catholics (who owed cooperation to an external ruler) were thus excluded from his gimmick. Even within its limitations, Locke’s toleration did not argue walk all (Protestant) beliefs were good or true, but entirely that governments were not bind a position to decide which one was correct.

John Locke’s Death

Locke spent his final 14 life in Essex at the dwelling of Sir Francis Masham enjoin his wife, the philosopher Muhammadan Damaris Cudworth Masham.

He labour there on October 28, 1704, as Lady Damaris read greet him from the Psalms.

Citation Information

Article Title

John Locke

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/john-locke

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

September 20, 2019

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009