Locke, John (1632–1704)

John Locke was an English philosopher and political actor who helped initiate the Enlightenment in England and France. He also influenced the founders of the United States. Locke wrote Two Treatises on Government (1689), an attack on absolutism and a defense of natural right and government by consent; Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), an argument for limited toleration of religious dissenters; and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), an account of knowledge and judgment in the context of modern scientific thinking. In addition to these influential works, he contributed to the study of education, economics, and religion.

Locke was born in Somerset, England. His father was a lawyer and small landowner who served in the Parliamentary Army in the English Civil War. Locke was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he later became a tutor of moral philosophy. Locke soon turned his attention away from the lecture halls of the university and toward the laboratories that were emerging around Oxford at the time. He worked closely with Robert Boyle (1627–1691), one of the founders of modern chemistry, and Thomas Sydenham (1624–1689), a physician and medical researcher, embracing their approach to experimental science and medicine.

Medicine set Locke's political career in motion. In 1666, Locke encountered Anthony Ashley Cooper (1621–1683), later the first earl of Shaftesbury and Lord Chancellor of England. After treating him, Locke became his personal physician and political advisor. His association with Shaftesbury brought him into the highest ranks of London society and propelled him into the political struggles of the day. Locke worked in both official and unofficial capacities to promote limited monarchy, economic expansion, civil liberty, and religious toleration.

His alliance with Shaftesbury also caused him a great deal of trouble. Shaftesbury led the parliamentary effort to exclude James, the Roman Catholic brother of Charles II, from succession. When political maneuvering failed, he and his allies made plans for [Page 968]armed resistance. Officials subsequently arrested Shaftesbury and tried him for treason. Although a jury acquitted Shaftesbury, Locke was suspected of disloyalty and fled England for Holland in 1683. He returned only after the revolution of 1688. Locke remained actively involved in forming policies under William and Mary, yet he devoted most of his intellectual energy until his death to clarifying and defending his philosophical, political, and religious views.

Locke argued that government was a trust, forfeited by a ruler who failed to secure the public good. A government's authority was not absolute. It was dependent on its ability to protect the life, liberty, and property of its people. When they entered civil society, individuals gave up their right to judge and punish others and subjected themselves to the judgment of a third party. The authority of the third party extended only insofar as it was able to safeguard lives and property. The people retained final judgment and had to decide whether their government had forfeited its trust and deserved to be overthrown. Locke's view of the importance of judgment also shaped his approach to philosophy, education, and religion.