Reading: Locke Speaks

Locke Speaks: The Life and Thought of John Locke

Biography: Reflections on My Life

Where to begin the story of my life? I was born in 1632 in the village of Wrington, England, but my upbringing took place in the nearby town of Pensford, in a modest yet scholarly household. My father, a lawyer who fought for the Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War, instilled in me the importance of freedom and the rule of law from an early age. These principles would guide me throughout my life.

My education was deeply influenced by my time at Westminster School and later at Christ Church, Oxford. While I appreciated my classical education in philosophy and the sciences, I quickly grew disillusioned with the old scholastic traditions, particularly the reliance on Aristotelianism and abstract reasoning. I found their methods too rigid and disconnected from the practical, empirical world.

It was at Oxford that I discovered the works of René Descartes, which ignited a spark in me. Descartes’ emphasis on reason and skepticism resonated with me, though I would later depart from his rationalist tendencies. I wanted to ground knowledge in something more solid than abstract speculation. My path was leading me toward a more practical approach to understanding the world—one rooted in experience, observation, and human nature.

My career, though initially academic, took a decisive turn when I became involved in politics. In 1666, I met Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper, later known as the Earl of Shaftesbury, who became my patron. I served as his personal physician and political advisor, helping him navigate the turbulent political landscape of Restoration England. This partnership would profoundly shape my political ideas, especially concerning liberty, governance, and the rights of individuals.

After Shaftesbury’s fall from power, I was forced into exile in the Netherlands for several years. It was during this time that I completed some of my most important works, including An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and the Two Treatises of Government. Upon my return to England in 1689, following the Glorious Revolution, I saw my ideas about government and individual rights gain significant influence, shaping the emerging constitutional monarchy and laying the groundwork for liberal political thought.

Now that you know the arc of my life, allow me to guide you through my ideas—ideas that have left an indelible mark on the world.

Philosophical Views: The Pursuit of Knowledge and Liberty

At the heart of my work lies a deep commitment to understanding the nature of human knowledge and the principles of political freedom. My philosophy sought to ground these concepts not in abstract reasoning but in the empirical world. I wanted to know how we come to know things, how we form ideas, and how society should be organized to respect the natural rights of individuals. Let me start with how we come to know.

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding: The Blank Slate

My most significant philosophical contribution lies in my An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, published in 1690. In this work, I sought to explain how human beings acquire knowledge. I rejected the notion of innate ideas, a popular belief in my time, which argued that humans are born with certain ideas or knowledge already imprinted on their minds. Instead, I argued that the mind is a tabula rasa, or blank slate, at birth. All our ideas and knowledge come from experience—through the senses and through reflection on those sensory experiences.

"Let us suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas. How comes it to be furnished? Whence comes it by that vast store which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it? To this I answer, in one word, from experience."
(An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book II, Chapter I)

For me, there were two sources of all knowledge: sensation and reflection. Sensation refers to the information we gather from the external world through our senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Reflection, on the other hand, refers to the internal process by which we reflect on these sensations and the operations of our own minds, such as thinking, doubting, believing, and willing.

This view of the mind as a blank slate was revolutionary in its implications. It meant that knowledge was not something innate or predetermined; it was something we acquired through experience, and therefore, education and environment played a crucial role in shaping a person’s understanding of the world. It was a deeply democratic idea, suggesting that all people have the potential to gain knowledge and reason, regardless of their birth or status.

Primary and Secondary Qualities: What We Really Know

In my Essay, I also introduced the distinction between primary and secondary qualities. This was my attempt to clarify what aspects of our sensory experience are reliable indicators of reality, and which are not.

Primary qualities—such as shape, size, motion, and number—are qualities that exist within the object itself. They are measurable and objective, and we can trust that these qualities are truly present in the world. Secondary qualities—such as color, taste, sound, and smell—exist only in the mind of the perceiver. These qualities arise from the interaction between the object and our sensory faculties, and they can vary from person to person. Thus, they do not exist independently of perception.

"Such qualities which are in truth nothing in the objects themselves but powers to produce various sensations in us by their primary qualities... I call secondary qualities."
(An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book II, Chapter VIII)

This distinction opened up important philosophical questions about the nature of reality. How much of what we perceive is a faithful reflection of the external world, and how much of it is shaped by our minds? It pushed philosophy toward a greater skepticism about the reliability of sensory knowledge while also affirming the value of empirical investigation into the nature of reality.

Political Philosophy: Life, Liberty, and Property

Alongside my contributions to epistemology, my political philosophy in the Two Treatises of Government profoundly shaped modern conceptions of government and individual rights. I argued that human beings, in the state of nature, are free and equal, with natural rights to life, liberty, and property. These rights are not granted by governments or monarchs; they are inherent to human nature itself. However, to preserve these rights in a stable society, individuals enter into a social contract.

The State of Nature and the Social Contract

In the state of nature, I believed that individuals are governed by natural law—the law of reason. This natural law teaches that no one ought to harm another in their life, health, liberty, or possessions. However, without a common authority to enforce these laws, conflicts would inevitably arise. Therefore, individuals agree to form a government that has the power to enforce the natural law and protect their rights.

"The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind... that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions."
(Second Treatise of Government, Chapter II)

Consent and the Right to Revolution

Unlike the absolute monarchists of my time, I argued that governments derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed. If a government fails to protect the natural rights of its citizens, or if it becomes tyrannical, the people have the right to rebel and establish a new government that will uphold their rights. This idea of the right to revolution was deeply influential in shaping the political philosophies of later generations, particularly during the American and French revolutions.

"Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away, and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience."
(Second Treatise of Government, Chapter XIX)

My ideas on government laid the foundation for constitutional democracy and the rule of law, principles that continue to shape political systems across the world.

Influence on the World of Philosophy: The Legacy I Leave Behind

As I reflect on my life and work, I am proud of the legacy I have left behind. My ideas have influenced countless thinkers in both philosophy and politics. My emphasis on experience as the foundation of knowledge laid the groundwork for the development of empiricism, which would later be advanced by philosophers like George Berkeley and David Hume. My political philosophy, with its emphasis on natural rights and government by consent, directly inspired the framers of the American Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

Empiricism and the Scientific Revolution

My focus on experience as the source of knowledge also influenced the scientific revolution. By grounding knowledge in observation and experimentation, I helped shift the focus of inquiry from abstract speculation to empirical investigation. This emphasis on the empirical method continues to guide scientific practice to this day.

Liberalism and Modern Politics

In politics, my ideas about natural rights, the social contract, and the right to revolution have been foundational to the development of liberal democracy. The principles of life, liberty, and property that I articulated have become core tenets of democratic societies, where individual rights are protected, and governments are accountable to the people.

Conclusion: My Place in the Modern World

As I look back on my life and the ideas I have introduced, I am struck by how far-reaching their impact has been. I sought to ground knowledge and politics in the empirical reality of human experience, to understand both how we come to know the world and how we can live together in freedom and peace. My goal was simple: to bring clarity to philosophy and justice to governance.

Today, I see that the world continues to grapple with the same questions I faced in my time—questions about the nature of knowledge, the limits of government power, and the rights of individuals. I hope that my ideas will continue to serve as a guide for those who seek to understand the world and improve the human condition. After all, knowledge, freedom, and reason are the keys to human flourishing, and they remain as important today as they were in my lifetime.