The Enlightenment Theory Of John Locke

The philosopher, John Locke believed that people should have governmental freedoms. Locke stated, “should also be equal one among another without subordination or subjection”(DocA), meaning that nature created all people equally and that the government should not downgrade people. Locke wanted people to have the freedom to have any chance at a governmental position, because nature created all people equally. He believed that if a new government was necessary that people have the right to create a new government, “they have not only a right to get out of [a failed government], but to prevent it”(DocA). Locke also believed that all people are born equal and that society has the freedom to change the government in question.

In his Second Treatise on Government Locke focus’ on liberalism & capitalism, defending the claim that men are by nature free and equal against the idea that God had made all people subject to a king. He argued that people have ‘natural rights’, such as the right to life, liberty, and property, that hold the foundation for the major laws of a society. He says, “…we must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit.” (2nd Treatise, Chapter 2, sec 4). John Locke used this claim, that all men were naturally free and equal, for understanding the idea of a government as a result of a social contract. This is where people in the state of nature transfer some of their rights to the government in order to better guarantee the steady and comfortable enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and property.

John Locke and Thomas Hobbes both believe that men are equal in the state of nature, but their individual opinions about equality lead them to propose fundamentally different methods of proper civil governance. Locke argues that the correct form of civil government should be concerned with the common good of the people, and defend the citizenry’s rights to life, health, liberty, and personal possessions. Hobbes argues that the proper form of civil government must have an overarching ruler governing the people in order to avoid the state of war. I agree with Locke’s argument because it is necessary for a civil government to properly care for its citizens, which in turn prevents the state of war from occurring in society. Locke also has a

This paper is about John Locke who was a philosopher in the 17-century. He was an Englishmen and his ideas formed the basic concept for the government and laws, which later allowed colonist to justify revolution. I agree with what Locke is saying because everybody should be able to have their own freedom and still respect the freedom of other people. John said, “Individuals have rights, and their duties are defined in terms of protecting their own rights and respecting those of others”. This paper will present to you information about his enlightenment, personal information, and how we as people feel about his decisions.

Both Thomas Jefferson and John Locke share a lot the same ideal in their writings. They both believe in the rights of people that are natural and should be given to all. The Declaration of Independence focuses on the rights of people that should be to everyone. These rights are emphasized through the belief that a government shouldn’t be allowed to violate these rights. Locke focused a lot on equality as stated here “A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another” (Locke 31). Jefferson used this as a part of his writing to inspire freedom to the American people. Jefferson and Locke believed equality to be a unalienable right of all people.

The Enlightenment was a period of learning and expanding. It was a shift in society and how people thought. John Locke and his ideas contributed in a major way towards the Enlightenment. Locke had three main philosophies, religious tolerance, all men are born a blank slate, and that the divine right to rule is incorrect. His influence on society helped shape the transition of religion to reason & questioning. Locke left a very powerful and positive impact on England during the seventeenth century.

Some of the leaders of the American Revolution were influenced by Enlightenment ideas which are, freedom of speech, equality, freedom of press, and religious tolerance. American colonists did not have these rights, in result, they rebelled against England for independence. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote about American's natural rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." These ideas came from the Enlightenment, the ideals led towards the American Revolution soon after (Fisk). "The American Revolution must be considered as an anticolonial war for independence, not only a war of liberation from overseas rule but a war for freedom. The American Revolution was a movement to fulfill aspirations to acquire more property" (Morris, 3).

Both John Locke and Thomas Jefferson believe that people have certain natural rights and that it is the government’s job to protect these rights. Their documents were both written for revolutions, although they were two very different revolutions. Ultimately, a revolution in Europe influenced Locke to write the Second Treatise on Government. The Second Treatise on Government was important because it influenced the way many later philosophers would view government. One philosopher influenced by Locke was Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence used the same philosophy as Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, but it also held great significance in that it was the first time a group of colonies had successfully separated from a world power like Great Britain.

His writings had a great impact in the perception of the leaders of America. John Locke was an English philosopher who highly influenced the Founding Fathers. He highly believed in natural science and in the growing middle class and represented the principles of the Enlightenment. In an essay Locke wrote concerning human understanding in 1690, Locke denied the idea of native beliefs and argued that every individual is born with a blank mind and that it is the environment that shapes the individual. Thomas Hobbes 's belief that kings govern by divine power was rejected by Locke. He believed that every human being was born equal and that the surroundings in the environment was what molded everyone. Locke argued that people are blessed with some natural rights such as liberty, life, and property. Locke was the philosopher that exposed the concept of governmental checks and balances which later became the foundation for the U. S. Constitution.

John Locke known as an Enlightenment thinker believed in the equality between men. “A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another...by an evident and clear appointment, an undoubted right to dominion and sovereignty (Doc. 2).” John Locke stated this in 1690 with the meaning that everyone is equal no matter what their rank or power may be. They must all have the same advantages with the except that the person may want to work for someone else. “To renounce liberty is to renounce being a man, to surrender the

Immanuel Kant describes the enlightenment as a period of “daring to know,” that the Enlightenments effort was to illuminate the dark corners of the human mind. The Enlightenment

Enlightenment thinkers, also known as philosophers had a major impact on the American and French Revolution. Philosophers from the 1700s influenced the making of two documents known as United States’ Declaration of Independence and France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens. The Declaration of Independence is a document that was written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson. It reflects the beliefs of enlightenment philosopher, John Locke. Written in 1793 by Marquis de Lafayette, the Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen was influenced by the beliefs of Voltaire, another Enlightenment thinker. John Locke didn’t like the idea of absolute monarchy. He favored the idea of self- government and equal rights. Locke believed that the

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

The philosophy of John Locke Creates a more stable society, than the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, Because, John Locke held people to a high standard and said "they were logical enough to govern themselves,(Enlightenment). He identified three natural rights life, library, property. John Locke is an physician, and also a writer, he wrote many writings that influenced future leads like Thomas Jefferson, and Locke mostly know as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Locke disagreed with Hobbes and absolutism and favored constitutional monarchy, which is where the kings power is limited and the people are represented by a legislature. With the philosophy of Locke's, the people will have more say and be more happy because instead

John Locke laid out a series of principles in his Two Treatises on Government, stating that men are naturally free and equal and able to