John Locke

John Locke (August 29 1632 – October 28 1704) was a 17th-century English philosopher concerned primarily with society and epistemology. Locke's notions of a "government with the consent of the governed" and people's natural rights—life, liberty, and property—had an enormous influence on the development of political philosophy. His ideas, which formed the basis for the concepts used in American law and government, allowing the colonists to justify revolution, are often contrasted with his practice of investing in the English slave-trade. Locke's epistemology and philosophy of mind also had a great deal of significant influence well into the Enlightenment period. Locke has been placed in a group called the British Empiricists, which includes David Hume and George Berkeley. Locke is perhaps most often contrasted with Thomas Hobbes.

Secondary literature

• Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknapp/Harvard University Press, 1967. Enlarged Edition, 1992. Discusses influence of Locke and other thinkers upon American political thought.
• John Dunn, Locke Oxford University Press, 1984. A succinct introduction.
• John Dunn, The Political Thought of John Locke: An Historical Account of the Argument of the Two Treatises of Government. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969. Introduced the interpretation which emphasizes the theological element in Locke's political thought.
• Roland Hall (ed.) `Locke Studies' is an annual journal of research on John Locke (obtainable from the editor for £12; the current volume is 300 pages).
• John W. Yolton (ed.), John Locke: Problems and Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969. Reassesses Locke's political philosophy from different points of view.