John Locke -Philosophy Essay Essay

The end of righteousness is non to abolish or restrain, just now to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in whole the estates of created beings capable of constabulary, where in that respect is no uprightness, there is no freedom lav Locke. What I feel that John Locke is attempting to express in his quote is that society believes that by having laws in place the governance is taking outside from the freedom they long to endure. However, by having laws in place it actually helps to enforce their rights to freedom. I chose John Locke as my topic for my final paper because I waste taken an interest in the disembodied spirit he led, his inspirations and his role in politics.John Locke was the runner of the classical British empiricists. Empiricists believed that all fellowship derives from experience. He became highly influential to the semi semi governmental conception, inspiring govern workforcet representatives such as doubting doubting Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and James Madison. Locke show the radical view that government is morally obliged to serve people by protecting life, familiarity and property (n. a, n. d). He explained the principle of checks and balances in ordain to marches the power of government. He as well as kick upstairs representative government and rule of law.Locke insisted that when government violates individualistic rights, the people have a right to rebel. His views on individual rights, life, contentment and politics led Locke to require cognize as the 17th century English Philosopher of the enlightenment. John Locke was born August 29, 1632, in Somer mystify, England. He was the oldest son of Agnes Keene and John Locke. His drive was a Puritan lawyer who served as a clerk for justices of the peace (n. a. , n. d). With the assist of his fathers connections to the English government, Locke sure an exceptional education.In 1647 he enrolled at Westminster School in capital of the United Kingdom, where he acquire his distinct honor of being realized a queen mole rats Scholar. This was a privilege that went to only select number of boys and mark the path for Locke to attend Christ Church, Oxford in 1652 (n. a. , n. d). Christ Church is considered the closely prestigious school in Oxford. During this educational duration period, Locke engaged in logic and metaphysics. He graduated from Christ Church in 1656 and re off-key two days later to lease a Masters of the Arts. This accomplishment currently led to Locke taking on tutorial produce at the college.In 1668 Locke was select a fellow of the purple Society. The Royal Society is a fellowship of the hu domain beingss close to eminent scientist and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous world (n. a. ,n. d. ). Locke then went on to study school of thought and medicine at the University of Oxford and graduated in 1674 with a bachelors of medicine. Locke did not want to commit his life to a unearthly order and the refore turned down a permanent learn position from Oxford. This opened the doors to an fortune segment as a private medico and secretarial assistant to Anthony Ashley barrel maker, the Earl of Shaftesbury (Kermerling, 2011).During the summer of 1666, Anthony Ashley Cooper visited Oxford where he met Locke who was at the clip studying medicine. Cooper, who was suffering from a liver cyst which peril to become swollen and infected, requested that Locke be his personal physician. Locke accepted and soon go into a room at the Coopers Exeter House mansion in Westminster, London. Coopers condition decline and Locke was in a position of opportunity to heal the Earl successfully. In 1668, Locke supervised a successfully surgery and save the life of Anthony Ashley Cooper, the Earl of Shaftesbury.This honorable act led Locke to become a valued partner of Shaftesbury. by and by Shaftesbury stature grew, so did Lockes responsibilities. He assisted in the Earls melodic line and poli tical matters and after Shaftsbury was made chancellor, Locke became his secretary of presentations. Locke was involved in just well-nigh everything that Shaftsbury did. This included the formation of the Whig society. The Whig party was a political group which consisted of politicians from America, England and Scotland who opposed King Charles I of England. Locke maintained correspondence with the party to assist with influencing Parliamentary elections.Shaftsbury was impris wholenessd for a year and on his release he helped pass the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679 which made it unlawful for government to last a person without filing testicle charges. The act overly specified that an individual could not be put on trial for the same charge to a greater extent than once (n. a. ,n. d). Shaftesbury was a strong beguile to John Locke and helped pave his flair for forthcoming success through experience Empiricist. During the die hard of King Charles II it was illegal to write, empat hize or have books in champions give birthion that pertained to any blackball press against the government. Although it was risky, Locke continued his mission.He wrote nearly his experience with political action at laws. One treatise link a claim that the Bible okay tyrants and that parents had absolute authority over children. A second treatise presented an epic case for liberty and the right of people to rebel against tyrants. He pushed to a radical conclusion which attacked thrall and a defense of revolution (n. a. , n. d. ). Locke fled to Rotterdam on September 7, 1683 to a ward off legal action (n. a. , n. d. ). The English government tried to have Locke extradited for trial and possible hanging. Lock fled to London and assumed the name Dr. van der Linden. He signed letters as Lamy or Dr.Lynne (n. a. ,n. d. ). Locke assumed that the government would intercept mail, so he protected friends by referring to them with poetry or false names. His excuse to friends for path etic to Holland was that he enjoyed the local beer. In Holland, Locke began to work on his philosophical masterpiece, An Essay Concerning homophile Understanding which urged people to base their convictions on observation and reason. His argument was that all ideas, undecomposable or complex, are ultimately derived from experience.He challenged the conventional doctrine that learning consisted just of reading ancient texts and absorbing religious dogmas (n.a. , n. d. ). He maintained that lowstanding that the world required observation. The essay was published in December 1689, and established Locke as Englands leading philosopher. In the essay, Locke states the nature of his proposed doctrine Let us then hypothesize the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas How comes it to be give?Whenced comes it by that vast store which the fussy and boundless fancy of man has multi-color on it with almost endless mix? Whence has it all the mate rials of reason and companionship? To this I answer, in one word, from experience.In that all our knowledge is founded. (Valasquez, 2011) The book became one of the most widely reprinted and influential whole kit on ism. It brought great fame for Locke. So such(prenominal), that he spent the rest of his life responding to admirers and critics by making revisions in later editions of the book, including circumstantial accounts of human volition and moral freedom. Locke to a fault published Two Treatise of Civil Government. These literary works were published anonymously in order to avoid controversy. The First Treatise is a comminuted rejection of the monarchist theories of Robert Filmer.Locke attacked Filmers claim that graven image sanctioned the absolute power of kings. During this time period, such an attack was risky since it could intimately be prosecuted as an attack on the King Charles II. The Second Treatise of Government offers a systematic account of the foundatio ns of political obligation. The views evince within this treatise were so radical that he only released his name as newspaper in his will. Lockes writings did more than to inebriate the libertarian ideals of the American Revolution. This, in turn, set an example which inspired people throughout Europe, Latin America and Asia.Lockes philosophy had a great effect on Americans as well. Thomas Jefferson ranked Locke as the most master(prenominal) thinkers on liberty. He also helped inspire Thomas Paines radical ideas most revolution. James Madison drew most of his fundamental principles of liberty and government from Lockes writings. John Lockes writings were also included in the self-education of genus Benzoin Franklin. John Adams believed that twain girls and boys should learn about Locke. Lockes twine even traveled to France where the French philosopher Voltaire called, Locke the man of the greatest wisdom.What he has not seen clearly, I despair of ever seeing (n. a. , n. d. ). Mathematician and physicist Isaac northward cherished his company. Locke helped William Penn restore his good name when he was political fugitive, just as Penn had arranged a pardon for Locke when he had been a political fugitive. Locke was described by the famous English physician Dr. Thomas Sydenham as a man whom, in the acuteness of his intellect, in the steadiness of his judgment, in the simplicity, that is, in the excellence of his manners, I confidently declare to have, amongst the men of our time, few qualifieds and no superiors.(n. a. , n. d. ).It is astonishing that Lockes work has alter so many people nigh the world. He was an undistinguished Oxford scholar. He had a brief experience with a failed diplomatic mission. He was a physician who lacked traditional credentials and had only one patient. His beginning(a) major work was not published until the age of 57. All of this and he is suave one of the leading philosophers of all time. In 1691, John Locke is invited to spend his last years with friends Francis and Damaris Masham.Damaris is also a philosopher and is believed to have been romantically involved with Locke during their study years at Oxford. When Locke left for Holland, Damaris was to visit however it did not work out and she married Francis Masham (Uzgalis, 2012). During his preventative with the Mashams Locke tutored their son Francis, here he begins to work on his treaties Thoughts Concerning Education. Lockes wellness gradually began to worsen. He lost most of his hearing and his legs began to swell. He could barely start himself to rise from bed. Around 300 in the afternoon, Saturday, October 28, 1704 he passed away (n. a, n. d. ). He was sit down in his study with Lady Marsham.Suddenly, he brought his hands to his face, shut his eyes and died. He was 72 years old. Lockes focalisation has primarily been based upon the ideas of freedom and comparability as a whole. He believed that citizens should of course possess the ri ght to life, liberty and bliss, which is pictured in the constitution of the United States. These undeniable rights or inhering rights have derived from the law of nature. The law of nature is a state that relies purely on the law of God, which is also known as moral law. This law gave people the natural right to life, liberty, and happiness without question.In addition, Locke believed that people also possess the staple fiber right of self-defense if under attack. However, Lockes key aspect of his theories was the basic idea of equality. He said that goose egg has the right to rule and that consent is critical because its based on the set forth that all people are equal (Uzgalis, 2012). John Locke is still very much known as a political philosopher in todays advance(a) society. Because much of Lockes philosophy revolve about on subjects such as natural rights and knowledge, he has in-turn shaped American politics in such a way that it has never been the same.Locke has chal lenged many theories that have to do with inalienable rights as a part of natural law therefore he had much to do with the interlocking in the evolution of the American Government. He taught that, men by nature possess legitimate rights. He had a tremendous figure out on all future political thinking. A clear representation of his involvement is portrayed in the declaration of independence. John Locke was, and will always be remembered as a pioneer in redbrick thinking.