Almost two months ago, precisely on 29th August, the British writer John Locke would complete 390 years old. So this post is a tribute to him. He was a pioneer in the defense of human rights, education and democracy. This post is a summary of four articles. The first was published https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke. The second was published at https://learn.saylor.org/mod/page/view.phid=36461&forceview=1#:~:text=Locke%20wrote%20that%20people%20form,that%20protects%20their%20human%20rights. The third was published at https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke-political/. The fourth was published at https://ethics.org.au/big-thinker-john-locke/
John Locke (1632-1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism". Considered one of the first British empiricists, Locke is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of political philosophy. His contributions to republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Internationally, Locke's political-legal principles continue to have a profound influence on the theory and practice of limited representative government and the protection of basic rights and freedoms under the rule of law. Locke's Theory of Mind is often cited as the origin of modern conceptions of identity and the self, figuring prominently in the work of later philosophers such as David Hume and Immanuel Kant. Locke was born near Bristol, both of his parents were Puritans. In 1647, Locke was sent to Westminster School in London under the sponsorship of Alexander Popham, a member of Parliament. After he was admitted to Oxford at the age of 20. He obtained a bachelor of medicine in 1675, having studied the subject extensively during his time at Oxford. Locke's medical knowledge was put to the test when Ashley Cooper undergo surgery to remove a cyst in the liver. Ashley survived and credited Locke with saving his life. Ashley, as a founder of the Whig movement, exerted great influence on Locke's political ideas. Locke became involved in politics when Ashley became Lord Chancellor in 1672. Although Locke was associated with the influential Whigs, his ideas about natural rights and government are today considered revolutionary for that period in English history . Locke went to Netherlands in 1683, during his 5 years in Holland, Locke chose his friends from among the same freethinking members of dissenting groups. Locke's strong empiricist tendencies would have disinclined him to read a grandly work such as Spinoza's Ethics, he was deeply receptive to Spinoza ideas, most particularly the argument for political and religious tolerance and the necessity of the separation of church and state. Unlike Thomas Hobbes, Locke believed that human nature is characterised by reason and tolerance. Like Hobbes, Locke assumed that the sole right to defend in the state of nature was not enough, so people established a civil society to resolve conflicts in a civil way with help from government in a state of society. Locke was an assiduous book collector. By his death, locke had amassed a library of more than 3,000 books, a significant number in the 17th century. Traditionally, all groups of humans, from forest dwellers to urban, have had notions of justice, fairness, dignity, and respect. However, the notion that all human beings, simply because they are humans, have certain inalienable rights they may use to protect themselves against society and its rulers was a minority view in the era before the 1500s. Many pre-modern societies believed that rulers had an obligation to govern wisely and for everyone's benefit. However, this obligation was believed to come from divine commandment or from tradition. It did not rest on a concept of personal human rights that ordinary people could call on to defend themselves against unjust rulers. The first person credited with developing a comprehensive theory of human rights was the British philosopher John Locke. Locke wrote that people from societies, and societies establish governments, in order to assure the enjoyment of "natural" rights. Locke defined government as a "social contract" between rulers and ruled. Citizens, he believed, are obliged to give allegiance only to a government that protects their human rights. Many of the great political struggles of the past two centuries have revolved around expanding the range of protected rights. Across the globe, regimes that denied basic human rights to their citizens have lacked long-term stability. The lesson of the recent past is that, wherever people are given the chance to choose, they choose internationally recognized human rights. And despite shortcomings, we live in a world in which fewer governments dare to deny their people that free choice. Locke's epistemological positions in the Essay Concerning Human Understanding lead him to take education to be extremely important. His attack on innate ideas increases the importance of giving children the right sort of education to help them get the right sort of ideas. Locke's main educational writing is Some Thoughts Concerning Education. The book was extremely popular and went through numerous editions after its publication. Locke hopes for children who have internalized strong powers of self-denial and a work ethic that will make them compliant in an emerging modern economy. Locke's education is designed to give children the ability, when they are older, to evaluate critically, and possibly reject, prevailing norms. Locke also assumes that the isolation of early childhood will end and that adolescent will normally think differently from their parents. He was known for his liberal, anti-authoritarian Theory of the State, his empirical theory of knowledge and his advocacy of religious toleration. Much of Locke's work is characterised by an opposition to authoritarianism, both at the level of the individual and within institutions such as government and church. Locke's argument also places limits on the proper use of power by authorities. Due to his emphasis on liberty, Locke defended a distinction between a public and a private realm. The public realm is that of politics and the individual's role in the community as a part of the state. The private realm is that of domesticity where power is parental. For Locke, government should not interfere in the private realm. Locke asked us to use reason in order to seek the truth, rather than simply accept the opinion of those in positions of power or be swayed by superstition. We see Locke's legacy in the 1776 U.S. Declaration of Independence, which was founded on his natural rights and theory of government. Following on from his theory of human rights, we also see Locke's legacy in the U.D.H.R., which was adopted by the U.N.in 1948. Locke's lasting legacy is the argument that society ought to be ruled democratically in such a way as to protected the liberty and rights of its citizens. And the government should never over-step its boundaries.
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