The Greatest Individual

John Locke; We all know his name even if we don’t know what he did or just think he’s that popular character named after him on the show Lost. Perhaps it is remembered that Locke was a philosopher or that his ideas about government are relevant to the formation of America’s government. This is all true. But Locke was amazing. In the sense that beyond being the simple philosopher we know and love today he was about a hundred other amazing things (okay so 100 is an exaggeration but you get the idea). He was an Oxford academic and medical researcher, a government official, economic writer, opposition political activist, and a revolutionary. He was perhaps the most influential man in history and relevant man to all we do now. His ideas about government are our ideas about government (and not just in America) because we adopted them and still use them today.

In the beginning…

God said let there be light and then in 1632 C.E. there was John Locke. Locke had a humble beginning. His mother died while he was still an infant and his father was a simple country lawyer and captain in the Parliamentary Civil War. His father died too while he was young (doesn’t every great man have a tragic beginning?). But his father’s connections got him into the Westminster School in London and then from there he was elected for studentship at Christ Church of Oxford in 1650. Locke studied logic, metaphysics, and classical languages then later medicine and experimental philosophy. In 1658 Locke qualified as a Master of Arts and was elected a Senior Student of Christ Church College then later Lecturer in Greek and Lecturer in Rhetoric. The great Robert Boyle became Locke’s mentor and much later in life Locke befriended the Newton (great individuals have great friends).  

Dr. Locke

Locke studied medicine though in 1666 he hadn’t yet received a degree, but was so good that people called him “Dr. Locke” anyway. Locke was always willing to help out those with some sort of medical problem (so he was a highly generous man)- he even was willing to perform surgeries on people. For instance there was Ashley Cooper (this is a man- Anthony “Ashley” Cooper) by operating on him and removing an “abscess from the chest” in 1666. But Ashley Cooper was no ordinary man. He was the first Earl of Shaftesbury. So now in 1667, at 35, John Locke was the personal physician to an Earl. He was also Lord Ashley’s secretary, researcher, political operative and friend. How many people find themselves that high up in society at age 35? And Locke did eventually earn that degree in medicine at Oxford and a license to practice medicine in 1674.

On the Board

It did not however stop here- for Locke was appointed secretary of the Board of Trade and Plantations and Secretary to the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas. The former- the Board of Trade, was created in 1670 essentially for Locke- it sprang out of his ideas. As secretary, “Locke was the collection point for information from around the globe about trade and colonies for the English government […] In his capacity as the secretary to the Lords Proprietors, Locke was involved in the writing of the fundamental constitution of the Carolinas,” (Stanford Encyclopedia). So here we see that Locke was largely responsible for the initial constitutions of two of the original American colonies; North and South Carolina.

Essays in Exile

But Lord Shaftesbury wasn’t always at the top politically- he did however find himself at the top of the Tower, imprisoned, more than once- and so Locke smartly distanced himself from the Earl during this time of national insurrection. Besides, Locke was opposed to the Divine Right Theory of the time, a theory which those of us who value democracy tend to oppose as well (but more on that a bit later). As it is- Locke went to France and then exiled in Holland from around 1684 to 1689. And it was in exile in Holland that Locke managed to write two of his most important documents; Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Two Treatises of Government. What is the significance of these? Well lets see…

Essay Concerning Human Understandings

            Basically, all knowledge comes from experience. Humans are not born with innate ideas or principles. If they were, everyone would agree to them but since there are no principles everyone is in agreement on then there are not innate principles. This idea is empiricism, and Locke was a key empiricist. His empiricism is a tradition of British philosophy and the basis of scientific discoveries up until today.

            Furthermore, knowledge can be obtained by humans but there is a limit to human knowledge. This is the epistemological part of the essay. Locke’s stance lies between those of the rationalists, who believed humans’ capacity of knowledge was virtually limitless, and the skeptics who believed humans have no capacity for knowledge. Locke’s epistemological theories inspired other empiricists such as George Berkeley (yes, that Berkeley, the 18^th century philosopher that the Ivy League college in California was named after and who is known for his philosophical contributions and his attack on the foundations of calculus, which proved to be correct and lead to the refinement and development of mathematics but this blog isn’t about him or math…), Thomas Reid, and David Hume (who was interestingly, during the Scottish Enlightenment, a collaborator and friend of Adam Smith, and if you know Mr. Smart than you know the importance of that man). Yes, Locke is responsible for the inspiration of more recent philosophers.

            But it still doesn’t end there! Every heard of tabula rasa? The idea that the mind is a “blank slate” with no built-in knowledge? Still used in law to refer to an impartial mind, untainted by preconceived notions or judgments? Well that was Locke’s too.

Two Treatises of Government

            So this document is perhaps the most important of Locke’s and its theories perhaps the ones you think of first when you recall John Locke. The first treatise is an attack on the Divine Right of Kings, specifically as stipulated by Sir Robert Filmer in his book Patriarcha, which followed that all humans are born enslaved to the natural born king who is the direct descendant of Adam. Even biblical scripture does not support this claim and Locke notes this fact in his treatise.

            The second treatise stipulates the key revolutionary theories about government;

The social contract theory- quite simply the idea that a legitimate civil government comes about only by the consent of the governed. Otherwise the governments do not have a right to the power.

The extent of government- those in power can never have absolute power over the people but only that which allows them to serve the public good and maintain, not destroy, inalienable rights.

Inalienable rights- all humans have them and are born with them; The right to life, liberty, and property.

Separation of powers- wait, that was Locke too? In a way it was. Locke opposed the view of Hobbes (as he opposed nearly everything the philosopher Hobbes stipulated) that one supreme authority should rule or at least only one legislative assembly. Locke believed government was best limited when divided into branches with specific powers. Montesquieu developed the theory of separation of powers and checks and balances but Montesquieu was born the year Locke published his Two Treatises of Government.

Taxation without Representation- Locke spoke of this too and of course was against it. He believed the people have an obligation to pay taxes…

“But still it must be with his own consent- i.e., the consent of the majority, giving it either by themselves or their representatives chosen by them; for if any one shall claim a power to lay and levy taxes on the people by his own authority, and without such consent of the people, he thereby invades the fundamental law of property, and subverts the end of government. For what property have I in that which another may by right take when he pleases to himself?” (Locke)

Rebellion- rebellion is just and necessary when the people are under an illegitimate government, a government which violates their natural rights.

It’s almost as if Locke sat with Thomas Jefferson in June 1776 and helped him draft the Declaration of Independence.

Nonetheless, Locke’s ideas inspired nations and legitimized several revolutions. His ideas are still intact today and we apparently agree with them. As for in America, we can…

dispose of the rulers we don’t like anymore,

and vote for ones we do.

We have our rights,

 and can rebel if we don’t think we do.

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There is much, much more I could say about Locke to attest to his greatness, but this blog is already over 1500 words. So, with all John Locke’s contributions to philosophy on humans and government, Locke is highly important to the course of history as we know it, highly relevant to the way democratic countries live life today and thus to all countries democratic countries touch (his ideas are even being thrust upon nondemocratic countries- I speak of course of the Middle East) , and thus he is the greatest individual in World History.

Thanks to these sources:

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/#HisBacLocLif

http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Philosophy/Locke.htm#Life

http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/lockeessay

Photos:

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