John Locke

John Locke

John Locke was a British philosopher, Oxford academic and medical researcher. His association with Anthony Ashley Cooper (the First Earl of Shaftesbury) led him to then become a government official who was responsible for collecting information about trade and colonies. It also led him to become an economic writer, opposition political activist, and finally a revolutionary whose goal was finally satisfied in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

His philosophy mainly revolves around his opposition to authoritarianism. For the individual, he wants us to not simply accept the opinion of authorities or be subject to superstition, but rather use reason to search after the truth. He wants us to only believe the opinion or suggestion of others to a certain extent, proportional to the evidence for it. For institutions such as the government or church, he wants us to be able to distinguish the appropriate functions of institutions from the inappropriate and to correspondingly distinguish between the appropriate and inappropriate uses of force by these institutions. Locke's anti-authoritarianism causes him to encourage one to believe that using reason to find the truth, and determining the appropriate functions of institutions will benefit human life both on individual and institutional levels.

Another of his philosphies regards human knowledge and understanding. Locke believes that we are not born with any knowledge or any ideas. Therefore, he believes that humans are born with a blank slate. He believes that as we grow and develop, our experiences write on this slate, giving us ideas and our knowledge. Therefore, one can only attain a certain amount of knowledge and ideas, corresponding to the experiences that they have had. Locke wrote his greatest work, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding on this topic.