John Locke

Background

Prominent English philosopher and physician John Locke is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment. Born on August 29, 1632, in Somerset, England, he was the son of John Locke, a lawyer and cavalry captain, and Agnes Keene. He had one younger brother, Thomas. His mother passed away when he was very young and he and his brother were raised by their father in Penston. Due to his frail health, Locke was homeschooled till the age of 14, after which he attended the Westminster School in London. After completing his schooling, he enrolled at Oxford University in 1652, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1656 and a master’s degree in 1658. While at Oxford, he developed an interest in medicine, and in 1667, still looking for a career, he moved to London and resumed his medical studies under Thomas Sydenham, a prominent English surgeon.

Locke marked the beginning of his career in 1665 when was appointed as a Secretary to the English ambassador to the Brandenburg Court. Then, in 1668, he became a member of the Royal Society. During this time, he was appointed the secretary of the Board of Trade and Plantations and later, also served as the secretary to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, learning the ropes of international trade and economics. In 1672, he became involved in politics under the influence of Lord Ashley Cooper, who would also serve as his mentor. In 1975, following the denunciation of Ashley by King Charles II, Locke moved to France and went on to earn a bachelor of medicine in 1675. He returned to England in 1679 and set about working on the “Two Treatises of Government,” considered a seminal work of political thought against absolute monarchy and individual consent as the foundation of political legitimacy. In 1683, he was suspected of involvement in a plan to assassinate King Charles II and fled to The Netherlands. While in The Netherlands, he began working on “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” and the “Letter on Toleration.” He returned to England in 1688 alongside Mary II after the Glorious Revolution. It was after his return that his works “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” “Two Treatises of Government,” and “A Letter Concerning Toleration” were published in 1689. Following a marked decline in his health, in 1691, he moved into the residence of his close friend Lady Masham, an English writer and philosopher, and her husband Sir Francis Masham. In 1696, he was appointed as one of the first Commissioners to the English Board of Trade until 1970, when poor health forced him to resign. He passed away at their home on October 28, 1704, and was buried in Essex, England.

Locke’s philosophy and thoughts did not achieve much attention during his lifetime. It was in the 1700s that his work began to be cited in America, with “Second Treatise of Government” being cited in the American resistance to the British taxation system. Locke is also prominently known for his influence on political philosophy and modern liberalism, influencing the likes of Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers of the U.S. Locke also had a significant influence in the area of epistemology, redefining subjectivity and proposing the philosophy of Tabula Rasa, or the theory that the mind is a blank slate at the time of birth. He also influenced modern psychology and political theory, the latter with his theory of social contract and the natural right to life, liberty, and property. His works and philosophical thought have placed him among the most influential thinkers of his era and it is thus that he is also known as the Father of Liberalism.