Strengths And Weaknesses Of John Locke

From Aristotle to John Locke to Thomas Jefferson, the ideas of great philosophers influenced the foundations of the United States. When Jefferson began writing the Declaration of Independence, he wanted to make this new country based on the basic fundamentals. He wanted to base the country on what was considered the natural laws. Jefferson had many philosophical minds to ponder when writing the document, such as Aristotle and most importantly John Locke.

After years of being subjected to Britain’s constant demands and constricting rules, America decided to pursue the future government and society they desired. They sent a letter to King John III, this letter contained a list of offenses the king had committed, and it also rallied up the colonists to fight for their freedom. This letter, called the Declaration of Independence, was ratified on July 4th, 1776. With the help of five colonists Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence to voice the people’s concerns. This letter ended up impacting how the government developed. The American government was significantly influenced by the Declaration of Independence, which established freedom and more rights for the people, and equality

John Locke was perhaps one of the most influential political philosophers of the modern period. In the Second Treatise of Government, John Locke discusses the move from a state of nature and perfect freedom to a then governed society in which authority is given to a legislative and executive power. His major ideas included liberalism and capitalism, state of nature, state of war and the desire to protect one’s property.

John Locke had many accomplishments. John Locke has public may significance writing; Essay Concerning Human Understanding in 1689, Two Treaties of Government in 1690, and Letters Concerning Toleration in 1689-1692. John Locke’s “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” defined the theory of human knowledge, identity and selfhood. In his “Two Treatises of Government” believing that the legitimacy of government relies on consent from its citizens which is given on the basis of equality. A government has the duty to protect the natural rights of its people, if they fail to protect these rights, the citizen have the right to overthrow the government. This writing shows John Locke beliefs in “life, liberty, and property.” In his “Letters Concerning Toleration,”

The enlightenment era arose in the modern cultural ideology of the 18th century, as ideas among philosophers had a widespread effect among the society. The age of enlightenment, in western society, projected the rejection of traditional Christianity, western philosophy, intellectual advances, scientific, and cultural life, government legitimacy and authority. Upon the enlightenment period multiple philosophers emerged, the individuals arose to leading figures using reason to understand all aspects of human life. The motivations for the enlightenment came primarily from the Englishmen, John Locke. John Locke was a philosophical influence in both political theory and theoretical philosophy, which was embraced among the era of 1789-1914 and

Locke’s writing helped inspired many, but impacted mostly the western philosophy (“John Locke: Biography.”) In Locke’s milestone, Two Treatises of Government claimed his revolutionary viewpoint, the natural rights of man and the social contract (“James Harrington Encyclopedia.”) Both impression not only overwrought in England, but also encounter the cognoscenti that formed the later American French Revolution. At the time of England’s downfall, Locke became involved in creating a clear objective for the government. Locke believed the government should be limited and should protect the life, property, and liberty of citizens. Locke wanted a government that met the needs of the people, which is what the makers of the constitution took into account when they set up the legislative branch. The legislative branch is made up of the Senate and House of Representatives. Locke was a long time influence of America, especially when he said “being all equal

Commonly known as the “Father of Liberalism,” Locke has had a lasting influence in politics. Locke wrote many political documents, including North Carolina’s first constitution and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, but one of his most famous documents is the Second Treatise of Government. The Second Treatise, which was written during a political crisis in Europe, was a voluntary acceptance of order where the government respects the people and the people respect the government. This document, along with Locke’s many other documents and ideas, led to a political advancement throughout

When looking at the Declaration of Independence and the justifications which Jefferson used in order to encourage the dissolve of the ties between the United Colonies and Great Britain, it becomes apparent how much of the theories of John Locke that Jefferson used as the basis for his argument. Focusing particularly on the second paragraph of the Declaration, the arguments for the equality of each man and the formation and destruction of governments come almost directly from Locke's Second Treatise of Government. The other arguments in the Declaration of Independence deal primarily with each citizen's rights and the natural freedoms of all men, two areas that Locke also spent

Locke's Explanation of Creation, Value and Protection of Property ‘The great and chief end... of Mens uniting into Commonwealths, and

Locke feels that this system of government is lacking in that the ruler has all control, and may not be stopped in abuses of power, which Locke fears. Humans beings decide to form a society out of the state of nature because there must be unity among men in order to protect one another, and so that they may punish offenders of the justice. Men do this under the rule of an indivdual who is selected by the people, and to whom the people give up some of their personal rights.Though humans give up certain rights to the chosen authoriy, they are entitled to certain rights reserved to them alone, which they hold within the society. All members of the society should be equal under the law of justice, and that no man is better than another, since all men are created equal, and all are equal before the laws of nature. The law of nature states that people attain property through the labour they do.The ruler or authority over a society should be an indivdual

According to Locke, the state of war occurs because of destruction and enmity, which results from the perfect freedom and liberty found in the state of nature. This idea is similar to Hobbes’ reasons for the state of war, yet, Locke believes that it also occurs because of the “presence of a common authority that fails to act justly, the only possible state is a state of war, because the arbitrating power in place to stop war is itself in violation of the laws of nature and justice.” However, Locke’s law of nature that governs this state goes against Hobbes’ idea of self-preservation, because it does not allow for man to harm another’s life, liberty, health or possessions. This natural law is based on the idea that every man may be free in the state of nature, but everything belongs to one omnipotent power, “the Maker”. This natural law aids in the peace and preservation of all mankind, and is a responsibility that is given to every man and along with that the authority to punish transgressors of this law. This is another natural right of man, but it is one that could never be truly enforced in the state of nature. Since Locke established that all men are created equal by the same omnipotent power, he is also saying that no one man has the power to

Providing the 17th century world with an alternative, innovative view on philosophy, politics, economics, and education among other interrelated and important aspects of life, John Locke proved to be a person of immense impact. Born in 1632, in Wrington, England, Locke was the author of many known writings which include the Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), The Two Treaties of Government (1698), A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), and Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693) (Goldie 32). Locke’s writings represent a series of topics involving the purpose of philosophy, emergence of empiricism, and the role as well as limits of governments and churches in terms of liberty and natural rights. In a time where exposure of such

John Locke linked human behavior with our nature. He argued in his works that men are governed and guided by the rules within our nature. “The state of Nature has a law of Nature to govern it, which obliges every one, and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.” (2nd Treatise.6) Even without any manmade laws that specifically guide us what and how to do a certain thing, we are programmed to follow basic rules mutually understood by every human on Earth. Locke brought up that these rules discourage, in fundamental, people from gaining power by depriving that of others. He noticed, by specifically employing the word mankind, that the ability to accept and live by this rudimentary rule is the ultimate characteristic that makes us who we are. It is the ability to respect other’s

In this conception of equality, it rules out domination or relations of master over slave. In this account, freedom and equality require one another. However, this right to equality and freedom comes with stipulations. Because we are born with reason, we are subject to our parent’s power and authority until we are capable of operating independently in society. Locke is under the impression that reason is a tool to help guide and direct the passions both in the State of Nature and eventually society. Under this account, reason is a means to personal freedom. To truly understand the structure under which power functions, it is here in Chapter 6 and 7, that Locke takes the opportunity to differentiate between political power and paternal power.

Absolute political authority should be a norm that in order to keep law and order, it plays an effective role in our society which helps people to become self-disciplined, while only the government has strong enough power to govern and restrains the immorality of human beings. Thomas Hobbes claims that the state of nature are “war of all against all”, he argues that absolute monarchy rescues people from social conflict and the form of government helps to keep law and order. John Locke, by contrast, believes that the state of nature is not equal to the state of war. Meanwhile, he advocates the democracy, and claims that people are born with the inalienable rights, liberties and their own properties which the government cannot deprive. While