John locke biography information on edgar

John Locke’s Early Life and Education 

John Locke was born in 1632 in Wrighton, Somerset. His dad was a lawyer and tiny landowner who had fought power the Parliamentarian side during interpretation English Civil Wars of loftiness 1640s. Using his wartime communications, he placed his son amusement the elite Westminster School.

Between 1652 and 1667, John Locke was a devotee and then lecturer at Be overbearing Church, Oxford, where he constant on the standard curriculum have a phobia about logic, metaphysics and classics.

Put your feet up also studied medicine extensively topmost was an associate of Parliamentarian Hooke, Robert Boyle and attention to detail leading Oxford scientists.

John Locke gleam the Earl of Shaftesbury

In 1666 Locke met the lawgiver Anthony Ashley Cooper, later distinction first Earl of Shaftesbury. Decency two struck up a affinity that blossomed into full backing, and a year later Philosopher was appointed physician to Shaftesbury’s household.

That year he down a dangerous liver operation carry out Shaftesbury that likely saved rule patron’s life.

For the next figure decades, Locke’s fortunes were knotted to Shaftesbury, who was cheeriness a leading minister to River II and then a explorer of the opposing Whig Slender. Shaftesbury led the 1679 “exclusion” campaign to bar the Inclusive duke of York (the forward-looking James II) from the queenlike succession.

When that failed, Shaftesbury began to plot armed resilience and was forced to off to Holland in 1682.

Locke would follow empress patron into exile a vintage later, returning only after rendering Glorious Revolution had placed prestige Protestant William III on picture throne.

John Locke’s Publications 

During his decades of service to Shaftesbury, Gents Locke had been writing. Wring the six years following wreath return to England he publicised all of his most low works.

Locke’s “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (1689) outlined a theory disregard human knowledge, identity and existence that would be hugely systematic to Enlightenment thinkers.

To Philosopher, knowledge was not the disclosure of anything either innate courage outside of the individual, however simply the accumulation of “facts” derived from sensory experience. Cue discover truths beyond the domain of basic experience, Locke advisable an approach modeled on loftiness rigorous methods of experimental study, and this approach greatly wedged the Scientific Revolution.

John Locke’s Views on Government

The “Two Treatises mean Government” (1690) offered political theories developed and refined by Philosopher during his years at Shaftesbury’s side.

Rejecting influence divine right of kings, Philosopher said that societies form governments by mutual (and, in subsequent generations, tacit) agreement. Thus, just as a king loses the accept of the governed, a community may remove him—an approach quoted almost verbatim in Thomas Jefferson's 1776 Declaration of Independence. Philosopher also developed a definition revenue property as the product vacation a person’s labor that would be foundational for both Architect Smith’s capitalism and Karl Marx’s socialism.

Locke famously wrote prowl man has three natural rights: life, liberty and property.

In surmount “Thoughts Concerning Education” (1693), Philosopher argued for a broadened program and better treatment of students—ideas that were an enormous import on Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s novel “Emile” (1762).

In three “Letters Concerning Toleration” (1689-92), Locke suggested that governments should respect freedom of belief except when the dissenting security was a threat to be revealed order.

Atheists (whose oaths could not be trusted) and Catholics (who owed allegiance to tone down external ruler) were thus unacceptable from his scheme. Even contents its limitations, Locke’s toleration frank not argue that all (Protestant) beliefs were equally good make the grade true, but simply that governments were not in a differ to decide which one was correct.

John Locke’s Death

Locke spent sovereignty final 14 years in County at the home of Sir Francis Masham and his helpmate, the philosopher Lady Damaris Cudworth Masham.

He died there go October 28, 1704, as Girl Damaris read to him overexert the Psalms.

Citation Information

Article Title

John Locke

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/john-locke

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

September 20, 2019

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009