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Definition: Locke, John from Philip's Encyclopedia

English philosopher and exponent of empiricism. In 1679 his friendship with the Earl of Shaftesbury, accused of conspiracy against Charles II, made him a target of suspicion and he went into exile in the Netherlands (1683-89). He returned to England only after the Glorious Revolution. He rejected the concept of 'innate ideas', arguing that all ideas are placed in the mind by experience. In 1690, he published Two Treatises on Civil Government, in which he advocated the social contract, the right to freedom of conscience and the right to property.


Locke, John

From Encyclopedia of Modern Political Thought
The belief that governments should be democratic, tolerant, and uphold human rights is now almost universally acknowledged. Among the most influential writers to have promoted this agenda in opposition to patriarchal, aristocratic, and narrowly religious principles was the liberal philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). Locke's three most significant works were published in the space of two years. The Letter Concerning Toleration appeared in 1689. This was followed in 1690 with the Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Also published in 1690 was Two Treatises of Government , including Locke's most celebrated political work, the Second Treatise “Concerning the True Original, Extent, and End of Civil Government.” Locke was born in the village of Wrington, in the county of Somerset in England. He attended Westminster School and went on to become a don at Christchurch College, Oxford. In 1666, Locke met Anthony Ashley Cooper, later the first Earl of Shaftesbury. He became Shaftesbury's…
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Full text Article Locke, John (1632 - 1704)

From World of Sociology, Gale
John Locke
The English philosopher and political theorist John Locke began the empiricist tradition and thus initiated the greatest age of British philosophy. He attempted to center philosophy on an analysis of the extent and capabilities of the human mind. John Locke was born on August 29, 1632, in Wrington, …
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Full text Article Locke, John

From Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature
Philosopher, political thinker, and physician, Locke, along with George BENTLEY and David HUME , stands among the seminal figures of British empiricism. Laying the groundwork for the epistemological foundation of science, Locke was the first major figure of Anglo-American philosophy. Thomas…
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Full text Article Locke, John

From Political Philosophy A-Z
English philosopher, teacher and quiet rebel. Locke’s key works in political philosophy are the two Treatises of Civil Government – particularly the second – and the Letter on Toleration . These texts are an indispensable part of the basis of liberalism . In the Second Treatise, Locke presents an…
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Full text Article Locke, John (1632–1704)

From The Oxford Companion to International Relations
Until relatively recently, John Locke's views on international relations have not received much attention. His best-known political works, A Letter on Toleration (1685) and The Second Treatise of Civil Government (1681–1689), were primarily concerned with protecting the rights and freedoms of…
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Locke lived in the century in which the modern natural and human sciences, which still form the horizons of much of our thought, were initially constructed. His Two Treatises of Government (1690) and A Letter Concerning Toleration (1690) are major constituents of modern political thought, and An…
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Full text Article Locke, John (1632-1704)

From Encyclopedia of Philosophers on Religion
Locke’s father was a lawyer with Calvinistic persuasions no less strong than his appreciation for political freedom. His mother was equally pious, with the result that he was baptized by a Puritan minister and, after the family’s move from Wrington to Beluton, brought up in accordance with the…
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Full text Article Locke, John (1632–1704).

From The Oxford Companion to British History
Perhaps the most influential English-language philosopher and political theorist, Locke is regarded as the founding thinker of liberalism. However, his influence on contemporaries was restricted by the political conditions of Charles II's last years. Locke lived in the household of *Shaftesbury the…
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Full text Article Locke, John (1632–1704),

From Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
English philosopher and proponent of empiricism, famous especially for his Essay concerning Human Understanding (1689) and for his Second Treatise of Government , also published in 1689, though anonymously. He came from a middle-class Puritan family in Somerset, and became acquainted with Scholastic…
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Full text Article LOCKE, John (1632–1704)

From The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature
Philosopher and educationalist who influenced a number of 18th-cent. writers and publishers for children with his belief that instruction is best combined with entertainment and that the child learns quickest when it is enjoying itself. Locke was educated at Oxford and subsequently taught in that…
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English philosopher, a formative influence on British Empiricism and on theories of liberal democracy. His most important work is the Essay Concerning Human Understanding , published in 1690. His treatises On Government (1690) were also influential, inspiring both American and French…
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