Major philosophical works. John Locke: Basic Ideas. John Locke - English philosopher

English John locke

British educator and philosopher, representative of empiricism and liberalism

short biography

An English philosopher, an outstanding thinker of the Enlightenment, a teacher, theorist of liberalism, a representative of empiricism, a person whose ideas significantly influenced the development of political philosophy, epistemology, had a certain impact on the formation of views, Voltaire and other philosophers, American revolutionaries.

Locke was born in western England, near Bristol, in the small town of Rington on August 29, 1632, the son of a legal official. Puritan parents raised their son in an atmosphere of strict observance of religious rules. The recommendation of an influential acquaintance of his father helped Locke get into Westminster School in 1646 - the most prestigious school in the country at the time, where he was one of the best students. In 1652, John continued his education at Christ Church College, Oxford University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1656, and three years later - a master's degree. His talent and diligence were rewarded with an offer to stay at the school and teach philosophy, ancient Greek. During these years, his more Aristotelian philosophy was interested in medicine, the study of which he devoted a lot of effort. Nevertheless, he did not succeed in obtaining the coveted degree of doctor of medicine.

John Locke was 34 years old when fate brought him together with a man who greatly influenced his entire subsequent biography - Lord Ashley, later Earl of Shaftesbury. At first Locke in 1667 was with him as a family doctor and educator of his son, later he served as a secretary, and this prompted him to get involved in politics. Shaftesbury gave him tremendous support, introducing him into political and economic circles, giving him the opportunity to take part in government himself. In 1668 Locke became a member of the Royal Society of London, the next year he is a member of its Council. He also does not forget about other types of activity: for example, in 1671 he conceived the idea of ​​a work to which he would devote 16 years and which would become the main one in his philosophical legacy - "An Experience on Human Understanding", dedicated to the study of the cognitive potential of man.

In 1672 and 1679 Locke served in the highest government institutions in prestigious positions, but at the same time, his advancement in the world of politics was in direct proportion to the success of his patron. Health problems forced J. Locke to spend in France a period from the end of 1675 to the middle of 1679. In 1683, following the Earl of Shaftesbury and fearing political persecution, he moved to Holland. There he struck up a friendly relationship with William of Orange; Locke exerts a noticeable ideological influence on him and becomes a participant in the preparation of a coup, as a result of which William becomes king of England.

The changes allow Locke to return to England in 1689. Since 1691, Ots, the Mesham estate, which belonged to his acquaintance, the wife of a member of parliament, became his place of residence: he accepted her invitation to settle in a country house, because suffered from asthma for many years. During these years, Locke is not only in government service, but also takes part in the upbringing of Lady Mesham's son, devotes a lot of energy to literature and science, completes the "Experience on the Human Mind", prepares for publication previously conceived works, including "Two Treatises on Government "," Thoughts on education "," Reasonableness of Christianity. " In 1700 Locke decides to resign from all positions held; On October 28, 1704, he was gone.

Biography from Wikipedia

Born August 29, 1632 in the small town of Rington in the west of England, in the county of Somerset, near Bristol, in the family of a provincial lawyer.

In 1646, on the recommendation of the commander of his father (who during the civil war was a captain in the parliamentary army of Cromwell), he was enrolled in Westminster School (the country's leading educational institution at that time) In 1652, Locke, one of the best students of the school, enters Oxford University ... In 1656 he received a bachelor's degree, and in 1658 - a master's degree from this university.

In 1667, Locke accepts the offer of Lord Ashley (later Earl of Shaftesbury) to take the place of the family doctor and educator of his son and then actively participates in political activities. Begins to create the "Epistles on Tolerance" (published: 1st - in 1689, 2nd and 3rd - in 1692 (these three - anonymously), 4th - in 1706, after Locke's death) ...

On behalf of the Earl of Shaftesbury, Locke participated in the drafting of the Constitution for the province of Carolina in North America ("Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina").

1668 Locke is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1669 - a member of its Council. Locke's main areas of interest were natural science, medicine, politics, economics, pedagogy, the attitude of the state to the church, the problem of religious tolerance and freedom of conscience.

1671 - decides to carry out a thorough study of the cognitive abilities of the human mind. This was the idea of ​​the main work of the scientist - "Experience on Human Understanding", on which he worked for 19 years.

1672 and 1679 - Locke is promoted to various prominent positions in the highest government offices in England. But Locke's career depended directly on the ups and downs of Shaftesbury. From the end of 1675 to the middle of 1679, due to deteriorating health, Locke was in France.

In 1683 Locke emigrated to Holland following Shaftesbury. In the years 1688-1689 came the denouement that put an end to Locke's wanderings. A glorious revolution took place, William III of Orange was proclaimed king of England. In 1688 Locke returned to his homeland.

In the 1690s, along with the government service, Locke again carried out an extensive scientific and literary activity. In 1690 the "Experience on human understanding", "Two treatises on government", in 1693 - "Thoughts on education", in 1695 - "Reasonableness of Christianity" were published.

Theory of knowledge

The basis of our knowledge is experience, which consists of single perceptions. Perceptions are divided into sensations (the action of an object on our senses) and reflection. Ideas arise in the mind as a result of abstraction of perceptions. The principle of building the mind as a "tabula rasa", which gradually reflects information from the senses. The principle of empiricism: the primacy of sensation over reason.

Locke's philosophy was extremely influenced by Descartes; Descartes's doctrine of knowledge underlies all of Locke's epistemological views. Reliable knowledge, Descartes taught, consists in the understanding by the mind of a clear and obvious relationship between clear and separate ideas; where the mind, through the comparison of ideas, does not perceive such relations, there can be only opinion, not knowledge; reliable truths are obtained by reason directly or through inference from other truths, why knowledge is intuitive and deductive; deduction is accomplished not through a syllogism, but through bringing the compared ideas to a point whereby the relationship between them becomes obvious; deductive knowledge, which is composed of intuition, is quite reliable, but since it at the same time depends in some respects on memory, it is less reliable than intuitive knowledge. In all this Locke fully agrees with Descartes; he accepts the Cartesian position that the most certain truth is the intuitive truth of our own existence.

In the doctrine of substance, Locke agrees with Descartes that a phenomenon is inconceivable without substance, that substance is found in signs, and is not cognized by itself; he objects only to Descartes' position that the soul constantly thinks, that thinking is the main feature of the soul. While agreeing with the Cartesian doctrine of the origin of truths, Locke disagrees with Descartes on the origin of ideas. According to Locke, developed in detail in the second book of Experience, all complex ideas are gradually developed by the mind from simple ideas, and simple ones come from external or internal experience. In the first book of Experience, Locke explains in detail and critically why one cannot suppose another source of ideas, as external and internal experience. Having listed the signs by which ideas are recognized as innate, he shows that these signs do not at all prove congenital. For example, universal recognition does not prove innate if it is possible to point to a different explanation of the fact of universal recognition, and the very universality of recognition of a known principle is doubtful. Even if we assume that some principles are revealed by our mind, this does not at all prove their innateness. Locke does not deny, however, that our cognitive activity is determined by certain laws inherent in the human spirit. He recognizes, together with Descartes, two elements of knowledge - innate beginnings and external data; the former include reason and will. Reason is the ability through which we receive and form ideas, both simple and complex, as well as the ability to perceive certain relationships between ideas.

So, Locke differs from Descartes only in that he recognizes, instead of the innate potentialities of individual ideas, general laws that lead the mind to the discovery of reliable truths, and then does not see a sharp difference between abstract and concrete ideas. If Descartes and Locke speak about knowledge, apparently, in different languages, then the reason for this lies not in the difference in their views, but in the difference in goals. Locke wanted to draw people's attention to experience, and Descartes occupied a more a priori element in human knowledge.

A noticeable, albeit less significant, influence on the views of Locke was exerted by the psychology of Hobbes, from whom, for example, the order of presentation of the "Experience" was borrowed. In describing comparison processes, Locke follows Hobbes; together with him, he asserts that relationships do not belong to things, but are the result of comparison, that there are countless relationships, that more important relationships are identity and difference, equality and inequality, similarity and dissimilarity, contiguity in space and time, cause and action. In a treatise on language, that is, in the third book of Experience, Locke develops the thoughts of Hobbes. In the doctrine of the will, Locke is in the strongest dependence on Hobbes; together with the latter, he teaches that the desire for pleasure is the only one that passes through our entire mental life and that the concept of good and evil is completely different for different people. In the doctrine of free will, Locke, together with Hobbes, argues that the will tilts towards the strongest desire and that freedom is a force that belongs to the soul, and not to the will.

Finally, a third influence on Locke should be recognized, namely the influence of Newton. So, in Locke one cannot see an independent and original thinker; for all the great merits of his book, there is a certain ambiguity and incompleteness in it, stemming from the fact that he was influenced by such different thinkers; that is why Locke's criticism in many cases (for example, criticism of the idea of ​​substance and causality) stops halfway.

The general principles of Locke's worldview were as follows. The eternal, infinite, wise and good God created a world limited in space and time; the world reflects in itself the infinite properties of God and is an infinite variety. The greatest gradualness is noticed in the nature of individual objects and individuals; from the most imperfect they pass imperceptibly to the most perfect being. All these beings are in interaction; the world is a harmonious cosmos, in which each creature acts according to its nature and has its own definite purpose. The purpose of man is the knowledge and glorification of God and, thanks to this, bliss in this and in the next world.

Most of the "Experience" now has only historical significance, although Locke's influence on later psychology is undeniable. Although Locke, as a political writer, often had to deal with issues of morality, he does not have a special treatise on this branch of philosophy. His thoughts about morality are distinguished by the same properties as his psychological and epistemological reflections: there is a lot of common sense, but there is no true originality and height. In a letter to Molyneux (1696), Locke calls the Gospel such an excellent treatise on morality that one can excuse the human mind if it does not engage in research of this kind. "Virtue" Locke says “Regarded as a duty, is nothing more than the will of God, found by natural reason; therefore it has the force of law; as for its content, it exclusively consists in the requirement to do good to oneself and to others; on the contrary, vice is nothing more than the desire to harm oneself and others. The greatest vice is the one with the most pernicious consequences; therefore, all crimes against society are much more important than crimes against a private person. Many actions that would be completely innocent in a state of loneliness naturally turn out to be vicious in the social order "... Elsewhere, Locke says that "It is human nature to seek happiness and avoid suffering"... Happiness consists in everything that pleases and satisfies the spirit, suffering - in everything that disturbs, upsets and torments the spirit. To prefer a passing pleasure to pleasure over a long, permanent one is to be the enemy of your own happiness.

Pedagogical ideas

He was one of the founders of the empirical-sensationalist theory of knowledge. Locke believed that a person does not have innate ideas. He is born as a "blank board" and is ready to perceive the world around him through his feelings through inner experience - reflection.

"Nine-tenths of people are made what they are only through education." The most important tasks of upbringing: character development, willpower, moral discipline. The purpose of upbringing is to educate a gentleman who knows how to conduct his business sensibly and prudently, an enterprising person, refined in handling. The ultimate goal of upbringing, Locke represented in the provision of a healthy mind in a healthy body ("here is a short but complete description of a happy state in this world").

Developed a gentleman education system based on pragmatism and rationalism. The main feature of the system is utilitarianism: each object must prepare for life. Locke does not separate education from moral and physical education. Upbringing should consist in the fact that the brought up physical and moral habits, the habits of reason and will. The goal of physical education is to form out of the body an instrument as obedient to the spirit as possible; the goal of spiritual education and training is to create a direct spirit that would act in all cases in accordance with the dignity of an intelligent being. Locke insists that children accustom themselves to self-observation, self-control and self-victory.

The upbringing of a gentleman includes (all components of upbringing must be interconnected):

• Physical Education: Promotes a healthy body, courage and perseverance. Health promotion, fresh air, simple food, tempering, strict regimen, exercise, games.
• Mental education should be subject to the development of character, the formation of an educated business person.
• Religious education must be directed not at teaching children to rituals, but at the formation of love and respect for God as a supreme being.
• Moral education is to cultivate the ability to deny oneself pleasure, go against one's inclinations and unswervingly follow the advice of reason. Development of graceful manners, skills of gallant behavior.
• Labor education consists in mastering the craft (carpentry, turning). Labor prevents the possibility of harmful indolence.

The main didactic principle is to rely on the interest and curiosity of children in teaching. The main educational tool is example and environment. Stable, positive habits are nurtured by gentle words and gentle suggestions. Physical punishment is used only in exceptional cases of audacious and systematic disobedience. The development of will occurs through the ability to endure difficulties, which is facilitated by physical exercise and tempering.

Learning content: reading, writing, drawing, geography, ethics, history, chronology, accounting, mother tongue, French, Latin, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, fencing, horse riding, dancing, morality, the main parts of civil law, rhetoric, logic, natural philosophy, physics - this is what an educated person should know. To this should be added the knowledge of a certain craft.

The philosophical, socio-political and pedagogical ideas of John Locke constituted an entire era in the formation of pedagogical science. His thoughts were developed and enriched by the progressive thinkers of France in the 18th century, they were continued in the pedagogical activities of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and the Russian enlighteners of the 18th century, who, through the lips of MV Lomonosov, called him among the "wise teachers of mankind."

Locke pointed out the shortcomings of his modern pedagogical system: for example, he rebelled against Latin speeches and poems that were supposed to be composed by students. Teaching should be visual, material, clear, without school terminology. But Locke is not the enemy of classical languages; he is only opposed to the system of their teaching, which was practiced in his time. Due to some dryness inherent in Locke in general, he does not give poetry a big place in the system of education he recommends.

Some of Locke's views from Thoughts on Education were borrowed by Rousseau and brought to extreme conclusions in his Emile.

Political ideas

• The state of nature is a state of complete freedom and equality in the management of one's property and one's life. It is a state of peace and goodwill. The law of nature prescribes peace and security.
• The right to property is a natural right; at the same time, Locke understood property as life, freedom and property, including intellectual property. Freedom, according to Locke, is the freedom of a person to dispose and dispose of, as he pleases, his personality, his actions ... and all his property. " By freedom he understood, in particular, the right to freedom of movement, free labor and its results.
• Freedom, Locke explains, exists where everyone is recognized as "the owner of their own personality." The right of freedom, therefore, means that which was only implied in the right to life, was present as its deepest content. The right of freedom denies any relationship of personal dependence (the relationship between a slave and a slave owner, a serf and a landowner, a slave and a master, a patron and a client). If the right to life according to Locke prohibited slavery as an economic relation, he interpreted even biblical slavery only as the right of the owner to entrust the slave with hard work, and not the right to life and freedom, then the right of freedom, ultimately, means the denial of political slavery, or despotism. The point is that in a reasonable society, not a single person can be a slave, vassal or servant of not only the head of state, but also the state itself or private, state, even his own property (that is, property in the modern sense, which differs from Locke's understanding ). A person can only serve law and justice.
• Supporter of constitutional monarchy and social contract theory.
• Locke is a theorist of civil society and the rule of law democratic state (for the accountability of the king and lords to the law).
• He was the first to suggest the principle of separation of powers: legislative, executive and federal. The federal government deals with the declaration of war and peace, diplomatic matters and participation in alliances and coalitions.
• The state was created to guarantee natural law (life, freedom, property) and laws (peace and security), it must not encroach on natural law and the law, it must be organized so that natural law is reliably guaranteed.
• Developed ideas for a democratic revolution. Locke considered it legitimate and necessary for the uprising of the people against the tyrannical government, encroaching on the natural rights and freedom of the people.
• Despite this, Locke was one of the largest investors in the British slave trade of his day. He also gave a philosophical justification for the taking of land by the colonists from the North American Indians. His views on economic slavery in modern scientific literature are regarded as an organic continuation of Locke's anthropology, then as evidence of its inconsistency.

Best known for developing the principles of a democratic revolution. "The right of the people to revolt against tyranny" is most consistently developed by Locke in the work "Reflections on the Glorious Revolution of 1688", which was written with an openly expressed intention "To establish the throne of the great restorer of English freedom, King William, to remove his rights from the will of the people and to protect the English people before the light for their new revolution."

Foundations of the rule of law

As a political writer, Locke is the founder of a school that seeks to build a state at the beginning of personal freedom. Robert Filmer, in his "Patriarch", preached the unlimitedness of royal power, deriving it from the patriarchal principle; Locke rebels against this view and bases the origin of the state on the assumption of a mutual agreement concluded with the consent of all citizens, and they, refusing the right to personally protect their property and punish violators of the law, leave it to the state. The government is made up of people elected by common consent to oversee the strict observance of laws established to preserve general freedom and welfare. When entering the state, a person obeys only these laws, and not the arbitrariness and whim of unlimited power. The state of despotism is worse than the state of nature, because in the latter, everyone can defend his right, but before the despot he does not have this freedom. Violation of the treaty empowers the people to claim back their sovereign right. The internal form of the state structure is consistently derived from these basic provisions. The state gains power:

• Issue laws that determine the amount of punishment for various crimes, that is, the legislative power;
• To punish crimes committed by members of the union, that is, the executive power;
• To punish offenses inflicted on the union by external enemies, that is, the right of war and peace.

All this, however, is given to the state solely for the protection of the property of citizens. Locke considers the legislature to be supreme, for it commands the rest. It is sacred and inviolable in the hands of those persons to whom it is entrusted by society, but not unlimited:

• It does not have absolute, arbitrary power over the life and property of citizens. This follows from the fact that she is endowed with only those rights that are transferred to her by each member of society, and in the natural state, no one has arbitrary power over his own life, or over the life and property of others. Human innate rights are limited to what is necessary to protect oneself and others; no one can give more to the state power.
• The legislator cannot act by private and arbitrary decisions; he must rule solely on the basis of constant laws, for all the same. Arbitrary power is completely incompatible with the essence of civil society, not only in a monarchy, but in any other form of government.
• The supreme power has no right to take from anyone a part of his property without his consent, since people unite in societies to protect property, and the latter would be in a worse condition than before if the government could dispose of it arbitrarily. Therefore, the government has no right to collect taxes without the consent of the majority of the people or their representatives.
• The legislator cannot transfer his power to the wrong hands; this right belongs to the people alone. Since legislation does not require constant activity, in well-organized states it is entrusted to a meeting of persons who, converging, issue laws and then, diverging, obey their own decrees.

Execution, on the other hand, cannot be stopped; therefore it is handed over to the permanent bodies. The latter, for the most part, is granted the allied power ( Federative power, that is, the law of war and peace); although it differs significantly from the executive, since both operate through the same social forces, it would be inconvenient to establish different organs for them. The king is the head of the executive and federal government. It has certain prerogatives only in order to contribute to the good of society in cases unforeseen by law.

In the 17th century, the first signs of freedom appeared in England. When theology and reasoning were taught at universities, medieval philosophy was forgotten, natural sciences replaced. Also, the 17th century for England is a civil war, marked by the gradual transition of an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one. At this time, the great English philosopher John Locke was born, whose works became the basis of universal philosophical practice.

Childhood and youth

The future philosopher was born in 1632 in the small village of Rington, located near the county of Bristol.

The boy's father, John Locke, was one of the best lawyers in the area, who lived in abundance.

John the Elder is freedom-loving, at the time when Charles I ruled England, he served as the captain of the army at parliament. During the revolution, Locke the elder, due to unprecedented generosity, lost all his savings, giving money to those in need. Thus, the father taught his son to try to live for society.

From the biography of the scientist's mother, it is only known that her maiden name is King. More information about the woman who raised the philosopher did not reach contemporaries.

The boy grew up in an oppositional family, neither father nor mother supported an absolute monarchy, nor did they support the regime of the ruling Anglican Church.

John's parents raised their son, each of them made their own contribution to the development of the boy. So Locke the younger inherited from his father a love of freedom and a respect for small everyday things, and from his mother the philosopher inherited piety.

The woman was afraid of losing children, because John's brother died in infancy due to poor health. Therefore, Locke's mother lived in eternal fear of God and constantly prayed.

The boy was brought up religiously and strictly, according to Puritan rules. For the most part, the boy was dealt with by his father, having developed his own method, which later John Jr. extolled.

John the elder kept his son at a great distance from himself and in complete obedience. Then he slowly allowed the boy to approach, and the menacing tone and orders turned into everyday advice. Gradually, the "boss" and "subordinate" became equal to each other and they were bound by a strong friendship.

Locke grew up a gifted and well-read boy. Father's friend, Colonel Alexander Popham, advised sending John Jr. to Westminster School.

Biographers of the philosopher say without exaggeration that Locke was the best student in the school: the boy treated all subjects with diligence and diligence.

In 1652 Lock entered the University of Oxford, where he studied medicine, Greek and Latin languages, literature, etc. Robert Boyle himself taught science to the young student. During his university years, Locke began to take a great interest in the philosophy of the mathematician Rene Descartes, who became the beginning of the worldview that developed in the student.

John Locke's interest was aroused by his teacher and mentor Robert Boyle.

Descartes taught Locke an aversion to empty, abstruse words that do not carry any meaning; throughout his life, John believed that brevity is the sister of talent.

Also, the future philosopher began to adhere to the teachings of John Wilkins, who was passionate about science, and the scientist Richard Lowe instills in the young man a love of medicine.

Theory of knowledge

John Locke wrote his key book, An Essay on Human Understanding, in 1690. Locke's teachings were promoted by scientific works about "innate ideas", which take their origins in the philosophy of the ancient Greek scientist, and then this theory in the 17th century considers, whose works were studied by John Locke.

"Inborn ideas" are human knowledge that cannot be acquired because it is not based on feelings. That is, those principles that lead to universal human agreement by virtue of "instincts".

But John Locke did not support this theory, but, on the contrary, spoke in his essay on sensationalism with the opposite point of view. According to the philosopher, people choose certain ideas (for example, discoveries of medicine) not because of "innateness", but because of their usefulness. The scientist believed that the basis of human knowledge is life experience, which is based on sensory perceptions.

Complex ideas are generated by the mind and are made up of simple ideas. And simple ideas arise as a result of the individual's life experience: a person is a “blank sheet of paper” that is filled with life reflection.

Thus, John Locke disagrees with, who wrote that the soul is constantly thinking, and thinking is a constant sign of the soul.

According to the English philosopher, knowledge is experience, and according to Descartes, thinking is an a priori state of man.

John Locke is the greatest English thinker of the 19th century, but all the conclusions of the scientist were developed not independently, but thanks to other figures. Therefore, despite the interesting interpretation of thought, John Locke is not at all the original author of the philosophical concept.

In An Essay on Human Understanding, the influence of the psychologist Thomas Hobbes and the physicist can be traced.

Locke's concept is that the world, limited in time and space, is subordinate to the highest mind - God. Each creature interacts with others and has its own purpose. The purpose of man is the knowledge and reverence of God, because of which comes bliss on Earth and in the other world.

Pedagogy

After a brilliant graduation from Oxford University, Locke teaches ancient languages ​​for a couple of years, but soon leaves this position, accepting the offer of Earl Anthony Ashley Cooper of Shefstbury. When Anthony was seriously ill, John Locke made the correct diagnosis. The grateful earl offered John to work as a family doctor and raise two boys.

At that time, Locke wrote letters to his friend Clarke and expounded his opinion on the upbringing. Edward diligently collected the letters of the philosopher, which served as the basis for the pedagogical work "Thoughts on Education."

John was sure that a person's actions do not depend on their own perception, but on upbringing, which develops a person's character, will and moral discipline. Moreover, according to Locke, physical education should develop simultaneously with spiritual education. The physical is the development of hygiene and health, and the spiritual is the development of morality and dignity.

The thoughts in the letters to Clark reflect the way Locke was raised by his father:

• Development of the body, adherence to strict discipline, daily routine and simple meals;
• Developmental exercises and games;
• The child must go against the desire and do what the mind prompts and that does not contradict morality;
• From an early age, children should be taught graceful manners;
• Physical punishment of a child takes place only with systematic disobedience and impudent behavior.

Political ideas

John Locke's political outlook is formed in childhood because of his parents.

Of Locke's political worldviews, the most famous is the idea of ​​a democratic revolution, expressed in the works of the philosopher: "The Right of the People to Revolt Against Tyranny" and "Reflections on the Glorious Revolution of 1688".

According to the philosopher about the state, it must guarantee personal freedom and natural human rights. On the rule of law, Locke says that representatives of power must be elected by the people, a person must obey the generally accepted law, and not the arbitrariness and despotism of higher officials.

John was also the first to put forward the idea of ​​separation of powers and was an adherent of the theory of the social contract.

The state is obliged to guarantee the protection of every person and his property, as well as to resolve cases of a criminal nature. Thus, Locke formed the concept of a legal constitutional state and legislative power.

Personal life

In seclusion and loneliness, John Locke has surpassed even. It would seem that a great philosopher is an everyday person who loves life. However, if by the end of his life Kant had acquired a house and a servant, then Locke had neither one nor the other. Johnn was a homeless person who spent his whole life in other people's homes as a teacher, an example is the story of Anthony.

John did not set himself the goal of acquiring a central activity, all his actions are fragmentary. He was engaged in medicine when someone asked him, he studied politics when it was possible, etc.

The devout John Locke did not betray the importance of the material world, but was preparing for the future life, which, judging by the scriptures, awaits a person in the afterlife. This can be explained by both Locke's piety and his poor health. Sometimes sick people live for a long time, but they constantly prepare for death, evaluating themselves as guests in this world.

The scientist did not have a wife and children. Locke tried to combine two opposing concepts - religion and science.

Death

The last years of his life Locke spent in the country house of one of his acquaintances, Demeris Mash, who replaced his daughter. The woman admired the philosopher, so Locke's moral teachings dominated her family.

In old age, Locke lost his hearing, which made him very sad, because he did not hear his interlocutors.

The philosopher died of asthma on October 28, 1704 at the age of 72. The scientist was buried near his last place of residence.

Quotes

• "Any passion comes from pleasure or pain."
• "There is hardly anything more necessary for knowledge, for a quiet life and for the success of any business, than the ability of a person to control his thoughts."
• "True courage is expressed in calm composure and in the unflappable performance of one's duty, regardless of any calamity or danger."
• "Twenty actions can be forgiven in less time than one violation of the truth."
• "In a poorly educated person, courage becomes rudeness ..."

ru.wikipedia.org

Locke's theoretical constructions were also noted by later philosophers such as David Hume and Immanuel Kant. Locke was the first philosopher to express personality through the continuity of consciousness. He also postulated that the mind is a "blank slate", i.e. contrary to Cartesian philosophy, Locke argued that humans are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge is instead determined only by sensory experience.

Biography

Born August 29, 1632 in the small town of Rington in the west of England, near Bristol, in the family of a provincial lawyer.

In 1652 - one of the best students of the school, Locke entered Oxford University. In 1656 he received a bachelor's degree, and in 1658 - a master's degree from this university.

1667 - Locke accepts the offer of Lord Ashley (later Earl of Shaftesbury) to take the place of the family doctor and educator of his son and then actively participates in political activities. Begins to create the "Epistles of Tolerance" (published: 1st - in 1689, 2nd and 3rd - in 1692 (these three - anonymously), 4th - in 1706, after Locke's death).

1668 - Locke is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1669 - a member of its Council. Locke's main areas of interest were natural science, medicine, politics, economics, pedagogy, the attitude of the state to the church, the problem of religious tolerance and freedom of conscience.

1671 - decides to carry out a thorough study of the cognitive abilities of the human mind. This was the idea of ​​the main work of the scientist - "Experience on Human Understanding", on which he worked for 16 years.

1672 and 1679 - Locke is promoted to various prominent positions in the highest government offices in England. But Locke's career depended directly on the ups and downs of Shaftesbury. From late 1675 to mid-1679, Locke was in France due to deteriorating health.

1683 - Locke emigrates to Holland following Shaftesbury.

1688-1689 - the denouement came, putting an end to Locke's wanderings. A glorious revolution took place, William III of Orange was proclaimed king of England. Locke participated in the preparation of the coup in 1688, was in close contact with William of Orange and exerted a great ideological influence on him; at the beginning of 1689 he returned to his homeland.

1690s - again, along with government service, he conducts extensive scientific and literary activities. In 1690, The Experience on Human Understanding, Two Treatises on Government, in 1693, Thoughts on Education, in 1695, The Reasonableness of Christianity, were published.

1704, October 28 - At the country house of his friend Lady Demeris Masham, Locke, whose powers were undermined by asthma, died.

Philosophy

The basis of our knowledge is experience, which consists of single perceptions. Perceptions are divided into sensations (the action of an object on our senses) and reflection. Ideas arise in the mind as a result of abstraction of perceptions. The principle of building the mind as a "tabula rasa", which gradually reflects information from the senses. The principle of empiricism: the primacy of sensation over reason.

Politics

The state of nature is a state of complete freedom and equality in the management of one's property and one's life. It is a state of peace and goodwill. The law of nature prescribes peace and security.
- Natural law - the right to private property; the right to action, to one's work and to its results.
- Supporter of constitutional monarchy and social contract theory.
- Locke is a theorist of civil society and the rule of law democratic state (for the accountability of the king and lords to the law).
- He was the first to suggest the principle of separation of powers: legislative, executive and federal or federal.
- The state was created to guarantee natural rights (freedom, equality, property) and laws (peace and security), it must not encroach on these rights, it must be organized so that natural rights are reliably guaranteed.
- Developed ideas for a democratic revolution. Locke considered it legitimate and necessary for the uprising of the people against the tyrannical government, encroaching on the natural rights and freedom of the people.

Best known for developing the principles of a democratic revolution. "The right of the people to revolt against tyranny" was most consistently developed by Locke in the work "Reflections on the Glorious Revolution of 1688".

Bibliography

Thoughts about education. 1691 ... what a gentleman should study. 1703.
The same "Thoughts on education" with rev. noticed typos and working footnotes
Study of the opinion of Father Malebranche ... 1694. Notes on the books of Norris ... 1693.
Letters. 1697-1699.
The censor's dying speech. 1664.
Experiments on the law of nature. 1664.
Experience of religious tolerance. 1667.
A message about religious tolerance. 1686.
Two treatises on government. 1689.
An Experience of Human Understanding (1689) (translation: A. N. Savina)
Elements of Natural Philosophy. 1698.
Discourse on Miracles. 1701.
State

The most important works

A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689).
Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
The Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690).
Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693).

Interesting Facts

One of the key characters of the famous television series "Lost" is named after John Locke.
Also, the last name Locke as a pseudonym was taken by one of the heroes of the cycle of fantastic novels by Orson Scott Card about Ender Wiggin. In the Russian translation, the English-language name "Locke" is incorrectly rendered as "Loki".

Biography

LOKK, JOHN (Locke, John) (1632-1704) English philosopher, sometimes called "the intellectual leader of the 18th century." and the first philosopher of the Enlightenment. His theory of knowledge and social philosophy have had a profound impact on the history of culture and society, in particular on the development of the American constitution. Locke was born on August 29, 1632 in Rington (Somerset) in the family of a judicial officer. Thanks to the victory of Parliament in the Civil War, in which his father fought as a cavalry captain, Locke was admitted at the age of 15 to Westminster School - then the country's leading educational institution. The family adhered to Anglicanism, but tended to puritanical (Independent) views. In Westminster, royalist ideas found an energetic defender in the person of Richard Buzzby, who, through an oversight of parliamentary leaders, continued to run the school. In 1652 Locke entered Christ Church College, Oxford University. By the time of the restoration of the Stuarts, his political views could be called right-monarchical and in many ways close to the views of Hobbes.

Locke was a diligent, if not brilliant student. After receiving his master's degree in 1658, he was elected a "student" (ie research assistant) of the college, but soon became disillusioned with the Aristotelian philosophy, which he was supposed to teach, began to study medicine and helped in the natural science experiments that R. Boyle conducted at Oxford and his disciples. However, he did not receive any significant results, and when Locke returned from a trip to the Brandenburg court on a diplomatic mission, he was refused the required medical degree. Then, at the age of 34, he met a man who influenced his entire subsequent life - Lord Ashley, later the first Earl of Shaftesbury, who was not yet the leader of the opposition. Shaftesbury was an advocate of freedom at a time when Locke still shared Hobbes's absolutist views, but by 1666 his position had changed and became closer to the views of the future patron. Shaftesbury and Locke saw kindred spirits in each other. A year later, Locke left Oxford and took the place of family doctor, counselor and educator in the Shaftesbury family, who lived in London (among his pupils was Anthony Shaftesbury). After Locke operated on his patron, whose life was threatened by a festering cyst, Shaftesbury decided that Locke was too big to practice one medicine, and took care of promoting his ward in other areas.

Under the roof of the Shaftesbury house, Locke found his true calling - he became a philosopher. Discussions with Shaftesbury and his friends (Anthony Ashley, Thomas Sydenham, David Thomas, Thomas Hodges, James Tyrrell) prompted Locke to write, during his fourth year in London, the first draft of a future masterpiece - An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Sydenham introduced him to new methods of clinical medicine. In 1668 Locke became a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. Shaftesbury himself introduced him to the spheres of politics and economics and gave him the opportunity to get the first experience of participation in public administration.

Shaftesbury's liberalism was materialistic enough. The great passion of his life was trade. He understood better than his contemporaries what kind of wealth - national and personal - could be obtained by freeing entrepreneurs from medieval extortions and taking a number of other bold steps. Religious tolerance allowed Dutch merchants to prosper, and Shaftesbury was convinced that if the British put an end to religious strife, they could create an empire not only superior to the Dutch, but equal in size to the dominions of Rome. However, the great Catholic power France stood in the way of England, so he did not want to extend the principle of religious tolerance to the “papists,” as he called Catholics.

While Shaftesbury was interested in practical matters, Locke was busy developing the same political line in theory, substantiating the philosophy of liberalism that expressed the interests of nascent capitalism. In 1675-1679 he lived in France (in Montpellier and Paris), where he studied, in particular, the ideas of Gassendi and his school, and also carried out a number of assignments of the Whigs. It turned out that Locke's theory was destined for a revolutionary future, since Charles II, and even more his successor James II, to justify their policy of tolerance towards Catholicism and even its imposition in England, turned to the traditional concept of monarchical rule. After an unsuccessful attempt to revolt against the restoration regime, Shaftesbury finally, after being imprisoned in the Tower and subsequently acquitted by a London court, fled to Amsterdam, where he soon died. Making an attempt to continue his teaching career at Oxford, Locke in 1683 followed his patron to Holland, where he lived in 1683-1689; in 1685, in the list of other refugees, he was called a traitor (a participant in the Monmouth conspiracy) and was subject to extradition to the English government. Locke did not return to England until the successful landing of William of Orange on the English coast in 1688 and the flight of James II. Returning to his homeland on the same ship with the future Queen Mary II, Locke published the work Two Treatises of Government (1689, the book contains the year of publication 1690), setting out the theory of revolutionary liberalism. A classic in the history of political thought, this book also played an important role, according to its author, in "justifying the right of King William to be our ruler." In this book, Locke put forward the concept of a social contract, according to which the only true basis of the power of the sovereign is the consent of the people. If the ruler does not justify trust, people have the right and even the obligation to stop obeying him. In other words, people have the right to revolt. But how to decide when exactly the ruler stops serving the people? According to Locke, such a moment comes when the ruler shifts from rule based on firm principle to “changeable, indefinite and arbitrary” rule. Most Englishmen were convinced that such a moment had come when James II began to pursue a pro-Catholic policy in 1688. Locke himself, along with Shaftesbury and his entourage, were convinced that this moment had already come under Charles II in 1682; it was then that the manuscript of the Two Treatises was created.

Locke marked his return to England in 1689 with the publication of yet another work closely related to the Treatises, namely the first Letter for Toleration (written mainly in 1685). He wrote the text in Latin (Epistola de Tolerantia) in order to publish it in Holland, and by chance the preface (written by the translator, Unitarian William Pople) got into the English text, which proclaimed that “absolute freedom ... is what we need. " Locke himself was not a supporter of absolute freedom. From his point of view, Catholics deserved persecution because they swore allegiance to a foreign ruler, the pope; atheists - because their oaths cannot be trusted. As for everyone else, the state should leave for everyone the right to salvation in its own way. In the Letter of Tolerance, Locke opposed the traditional view that secular authorities have the right to instill true faith and true morality. He wrote that by force you can only force people to pretend, but not to believe in any way. And the strengthening of morality (in that which does not affect the security of the country and the preservation of peace) is not the duty of the state, but of the church.

Locke himself was a Christian and adhered to Anglicanism. But his personal creed was surprisingly short and consisted of a single proposition: Christ is the Messiah. In ethics, he was a hedonist and believed that the natural goal of man in life is happiness, and also that the New Testament showed people the way to happiness in this life and eternal life. Locke saw his task in warning people who seek happiness in short-term pleasures, for which later they have to pay with suffering.

Returning to England during the "glorious" revolution, Locke initially intended to take up his post at Oxford University, from which he was dismissed at the behest of Charles II in 1684 after leaving for Holland. However, finding that the job had already been given to a certain young man, he abandoned the idea and devoted the remaining 15 years of his life to scientific research and public service. Locke soon found himself famous, not because of his political writings, published anonymously, but as the author of An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which first saw the light of day in 1690, but began in 1671 and was mostly completed. in 1686. Experience withstood a number of editions during the life of the author, the last fifth edition, containing corrections and additions, was published in 1706, after the death of the philosopher.

It can be said without exaggeration that Locke was the first modern thinker. His mode of reasoning was in stark contrast to that of medieval philosophers. The consciousness of a medieval man was filled with thoughts of the otherworldly world. Locke's mind was notable for its practicality, empiricism, it is the mind of an enterprising person, even a layman: "What is the use, - he asked, - from poetry?" He lacked the patience to understand the intricacies of the Christian religion. He did not believe in miracles and was disgusted with mysticism. I did not believe in people who were saints, as well as those who constantly thought about heaven and hell. Locke believed that a person should fulfill his duties in the world where he lives. “Our lot,” he wrote, “is here, in this small place on Earth, and neither we, nor our concerns are destined to leave its limits.”

Locke was far from despising the London society in which he moved thanks to the success of his writings, but he could not bear the city stuffiness. Most of his life he suffered from asthma, and after sixty he suspected that he was sick with consumption. In 1691 he accepted an offer to settle in a country house in Outs, Essex, an invitation from Lady Mesham, wife of a Member of Parliament and daughter of the Cambridge Platonist Ralph Kedworth. However, Locke did not allow himself to completely relax in a cozy, homely atmosphere; in 1696 he became Commissioner for Trade and Colonial Affairs, which made him appear regularly in the capital. By this time he was the intellectual leader of the Whigs, and many parliamentarians and statesmen often turned to him for advice and requests. Locke was involved in monetary reform and helped to repeal laws that impeded freedom of the press. He was one of the founders of the Bank of England. In Otse, Locke was involved in raising the son of Lady Mesham and corresponded with Leibniz. There I. Newton visited him, with whom they discussed the epistles of the Apostle Paul. However, his main occupation in this last period of his life was the preparation for the publication of numerous works, the ideas of which he had previously hatched. Locke's works include A Second Letter Concerning Toleration (1690); Third Letter for Toleration (A Third Letter for Toleration, 1692); Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693); The Reasonableness of Christianity, as Delivered in the Scriptures, 1695) and many others.

In 1700 Locke resigned from all posts and retired to Ots. Locke died at Lady Mesham's house on October 28, 1704.

material of the Encyclopedia "Krugosvet"

Biography

Born: 1632, Ringtone, Somerset, England.

Died: 1704, Ots, Essex, England.

Major works: "The First Letter on Tolerance" (1689), "The Second and Third Letters on Tolerance" (1690 and 1692), "An Experience of Human Understanding" (1690), "Treatises on Government" (1689).

Main ideas

There are no innate ideas.
- Human cognition comes either from sensory experience or from introspection (reflection).
- Ideas are signs representing physical and spiritual objects.
- Objects have primary qualities (density, length, figure, movement or rest, number) and secondary qualities (all other properties, including color, sounds, smells, taste, etc.).
- Bodies actually have primary qualities, while secondary qualities are only the impressions of those who perceive them.
- Good is everything that brings pleasure, and evil is everything that causes pain.
- The goal of freedom is the pursuit of happiness.
- The natural state, primary in relation to the state, obeys natural or divine laws, discovered through the use of reason.
- The main goal of the formation of the state is the preservation of private property.
- The state arises as a result of a social contract.

Although a number of philosophers have been called the founders of modern philosophy, in many ways John Locke deserves this name more than anyone else. His political theories have had a profound impact on the entire world - Western and non-Western - through his influence on the British, French and Americans. The founding fathers of the United States referred directly to his ideas in the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution - especially in the paragraphs on the separation of powers, the separation of church and state, religious freedom, and the rest of the Bill of Rights. The British constitution also drew on his ideas. Through the mediation of Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu, his theories were disseminated in French educated society.

Locke's theory of knowledge, his doctrine of the nature of matter marked a radical break with Aristotelianism, which prevailed in the philosophy of the Middle Ages. More importantly, they set before empiricism the tasks that dominated philosophical and scientific thinking from the seventeenth century to the twentieth, at least in the English-speaking world. We are not wrong to say that the philosophy of North America, Great Britain and the British Commonwealth is in most cases a commentary on Locke and the development of his theories.

Locke studied medicine and helped Robert Boyle, the discoverer of some of the most important laws of physics, in laboratory experiments. Thanks to this experience, he directly became acquainted with the natural scientific method, which acquired decisive importance later, when Locke developed his theories about the nature of matter and the sources of human knowledge.

Locke was convinced that one of the main reasons for the failure of philosophers of the past is their lack of attention to the actual sources of human knowledge. Many of their delusions arise from the "trash" that contributes to the emergence of many of the dogmas they take for granted.

Locke divided human knowledge into three large sections: natural philosophy (logic, mathematics and natural science); practical arts, including morality, politics, and what we call today the social sciences; finally, the "doctrine of signs," including the ideas and words we use to communicate them.

Many of Locke's predecessors - including such prominent authorities as Plato in antiquity and Descartes shortly before him - believed that humans were endowed with some innate ideas. These ideas were supposedly introduced into the mind at or before birth and only need actualization. The entire philosophical system of Plato was based on this theory. He thought that education was essentially about helping people to become aware of the ideas already present in their minds - this is how an experienced birdwatcher helps newcomers to recognize sounds that they have already heard while walking in the forest, but that did not say anything to them. Locke went to great lengths to prove that we cannot provide reliable evidence for the existence of such innate ideas. There is no evidence to suggest that there is general agreement on so-called self-evident ideas. In the field of morality, this is so striking that it does not need any justification. Advocates of the theory of innate ideas usually attribute sharp differences about moral principles to the fact that people who do not share their opinions are morally blind, but such statements are completely unfounded.

As for logical and mathematical truths, Locke pointed to the obvious fact that most people do not even have the most vague idea about them. Teaching these ideas requires a long and methodical preparation, and children and the retarded, no doubt, are incapable of comprehending them, whereas if these ideas were "innate", the situation would be quite the opposite.

Consciousness as "tabula rasa"

Human consciousness is, ”according to Locke, a tabula rasa, a blank board or sheet of paper, ready from the moment of its creation to receive sensations from the external world and internal impressions. These are the materials from which the only knowledge available to us is formed. Consciousness, armed with the data of sensory experience and reflection, is capable of analyzing and ordering them. Through this process, it constructs ever more complex ideas and discovers relationships between them that are not readily apparent in the raw data.

Locke concluded that things are the reasons why we have certain ideas. Ideas thus generated, he said, are qualities of things. Thus, he said, “the snowball has the ability to generate in us the ideas of white, cold and round; the inherent ability of a snowball to generate these ideas in us I call qualities; since they are impressions or perceptions in our mind, I call them ideas. "

Primary and secondary qualities

Locke distinguished three types of qualities. Primary qualities are, in his words, those qualities that are "absolutely inseparable" from a thing. These include figure, number, density, and movement or rest. Locke thought that they are inherent in the objects themselves, and our perception is in some way similar to these objects. Secondary qualities are the "ability" of things to evoke certain sensations in us. Particles of things invisible through a microscope interact with our bodies in such a way that they produce a sense of color, sound, taste, smell and touch in them. These "qualities" are not inherent in the objects themselves, but arise in our consciousness under their influence. Finally, tertiary qualities are the ability of things to cause physical changes in other things. For example, the ability of fire to convert lead from a solid to a liquid is a tertiary quality.

Philosophers of the past assumed that things are substances. The paper I write on is yellow, has a certain size and shape, and has a slight mildew. I described the paper, but what? is there the paper I described? They thought that it was a kind of substrate, a base that supports, or has, various qualities - yellowness, moldiness and squareness. However, careful analysis led Locke to the conclusion that it is impossible to find empirical (sensory) evidence in favor of the existence of a substrate, because all the data we have at our disposal relates to the qualities of things. He concludes that neither material nor spiritual substances are unknowable and that the very idea is so unintelligible that it defies meaningful analysis. Unlike some of his followers, Locke did not go to the end, that is, he did not completely abandon the idea of ​​substance. He simply concluded that substance is "an unknown something that supports those ideas that we call accidents" (qualities discussed above).

It was even more difficult for Locke to abandon the idea of ​​purely spiritual substances - such as the human soul or God, because Christian theology was largely based on it. His writings do not clarify this issue, since he hesitated, then recognizing, together with Hobbes, that there is nothing but matter, then supporting traditional religious ideas.

Locke was firmly convinced that only happiness, which he called "the highest pleasure available to us," can make us want something. We call things good, he said, if they contribute to the attainment of pleasure, and evil, if they cause pain. Pleasure and pain, by the way, are not limited to physical or bodily sensations; pleasure or pain can be any "pleasure" or "anxiety" we feel. As examples of pain, Locke cites sadness, anger, envy and shame, which are not always accompanied by physical manifestations or are caused by physical influences.

Like many of his predecessors, Locke believed that, at least in theory, speculating about the natural state - the state that human beings may have been in before the establishment of organized societies with laws and governments - was by no means meaningless. However, unlike Thomas Hobbes, who believed that in the natural state there is no other law than the law of the jungle, or the law of self-preservation, Locke concluded that human behavior obeys certain laws at all times, regardless of whether there is a state power capable of conducting them to life. In the natural state, every person has equal rights relative to any other person. Humans tend to use reason, and, being intelligent, they simply would not allow themselves to sink into the natural state that Hobbes portrays, in which everyone is at war with everyone.

Locke envisioned the natural state as something like the Garden of Eden, in which people lived in strict harmony with reason, without needing lawyers, police or courts, since they got along excellently with each other. In this state, people enjoyed "perfect freedom to act and dispose of their property and personality as they saw fit, within the limits of natural law, without asking permission and not depending on the will of any other person."

Taking advantage of such complete freedom, people living in a natural state are absolutely equal, since none of them has more than the rest. However, their freedom is not permissiveness or the right to harm others. Natural law requires that no one should harm the “life, health, freedom, or property” of another. On the same basis, a person does not have the right to arbitrarily, without a valid justification, destroy himself or his property. According to Locke, this is based on natural law, which, in turn, is based, apparently, on certain religious dogmas, including the idea that everything, including every human being, is ultimately the property of God. not allowing the destruction of his property.

The doctrine of ownership

Locke believed that labor is an excuse: the institution of property. In the natural state, everyone who transforms a thing from one state to another acquires the right to own it. The person who planted the garden and cultivates it has the right to the harvest that will be brought to them. Until then, Yoka's shell lies in the sands on the seashore, it is nobody's; but as soon as someone picks it up and uses it as an ornament, it becomes his property. Thus, unlike Hobbes, who argued that property arises only after the introduction of laws defining its boundaries, Locke believed that property is a natural right that does not depend on the state. Indeed, according to Locke, the primary purpose of the state is to "protect property."

Locke believed that, in theory, no one should have more property than he is able to use. This is especially true for short-lived things, such as fruits. A person who has collected a huge amount of plums does not befit to claim possession of them, for he cannot eat them before they rot, and waste is evil. However, the invention of money, and especially the discovery that certain metals are particularly durable, has allowed some to acquire disproportionately great earthly riches. Although, from a theoretical point of view, this is undesirable, according to Locke's conclusion, property is so sacred that you have to put up with its unequal distribution.

The people as the bearer of supreme power

After reason convinces people to establish a state by concluding a social contract (which is inevitable), it will turn out to be completely different from the Hobbesian state, in which the people as its subjects are ruled by a sole sovereign, or the bearer of supreme power. On the contrary, since the people conclude a social contract and agree to the introduction of the rule of law, sovereignty belongs to the people, and not to the king. From the fact that this is the case, it follows that the people who elevated the sovereign to the throne retain the right to depose him if the sovereign is not able to rule in accordance with their will.

Locke's teachings had a tremendous impact on the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and largely prepared the American and French Revolutions. According to Locke's revolutionary democratic theory, the highest in the state should not be the executive, but the legislative branch, since it is more directly accountable to the sovereign people. Moreover, the executive and legislative powers must be separated from each other so that they can serve as a mutual counterbalance, preventing the predominance of one of them and the usurpation of rights and prerogatives that belong to the people by natural law.

According to Locke, people form a society to preserve their property and obey the authority of government and laws that serve to preserve what is rightfully theirs. Consequently, says Locke, “whenever the legislators try to take away and destroy the property of the people or to subjugate it to their tyrannical power, they enter into a state of war with the people, which, by virtue of this, is freed from further obedience and has the right to turn to the common refuge provided by God. for those facing violence ”. So, if the government undermines the trust that the people have endowed it with, it also loses the power entrusted to it by the people, after which it “goes to the people who have the right to restore their original freedom and take care of their safety and security by establishing a new legislative power, which it is. deems it appropriate. "

Answering the accusations that by defending the right to insurrection, we doom ourselves to constant instability and frequent political upheavals, Locke noted that "not every disorder in public life leads to revolution." Generally speaking, peoples are quite patient with their rulers. To provoke the people into the appropriation of legislative power, abuses must overwhelm their patience. In addition, Locke argued, knowing that the people can revolt is the best guarantee against self-serving rule: knowing that their position is precarious, officials will be less prone to abuse.

If the goal of the state is the welfare of mankind, then what is better, Locke asked: so that the people remain forever in the power of unlimited tyranny, or that the rulers should be removed if they use their power to destroy, not preserve the property of the people? Be that as it may, he said, is a certain person a ruler or a simple citizen, but if he infringes on the rights of the people and plans to overthrow the legitimate government, then this person “in justice should be considered an enemy of society and an ulcer of the human race, and act with it follows accordingly.

If serious disagreements arise between the people and the ruler, who will be able to judge them? Locke's answer is straightforward and unambiguous: "The entire people should act as the plenipotentiary arbiter in such a dispute," for it is he who is the source of trust that the ruler was invested in. If the ruler refuses to obey the verdict of the people, then “it remains to appeal to heaven alone”: the ruler unleashes a war against his people, who has the right to withdraw the power entrusted to him and transfer it to another who, in the opinion of citizens, is capable of being a more loyal servant of the people.

Bibliography

Locke, D., Works in three volumes, M, 1985-1988. Serebrennikov, V., Locke's doctrine of the innate principles of knowledge and activity, St. Petersburg, 1892.
Rahman, D., John Locke, [Kharkov], 1924.
Subbotin, A.L., Principles of Locke's epistemology. // Questions of Philosophy, 1955, №2. Narsky, I.S., The Philosophy of John Locke, M., 1960.
Zaichenko, G.A., John Locke, M., 1973.
Locke, J., An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Collated and Annotated, with Bibliographical, Crititcal, and Historical Prolegomena, ed. by A.C. Frazer, New York: Dover Publications, 1959.
Locke, J., Two Treatises of Civil Government, ed. by P. Laslett, New York: Mentor Books, 1965.
Locke, J., The Second Treatise of Civil Government and a Letter Concerning Toleration, ed. by J.W. Gough, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1948.
Jenkins, J.J., Understanding Locke: An Introduction to Philosophy through John Locke's Essay, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1983.
Martin, S. B., Armstrong, D. M., Locke and Berkeley: A Collection of Critical Essays, Notre Dame London: Notre Dame University Press, 1968.
O "Connor, D. J., John Locke, London, 1952.
Yolton, J.W., Locke and Compass of Human Understanding: A Selective Commentary on the "Essay", Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970.

Original © Burton Leiger, 1992
Translation © V. Fedorin, 1997
Great thinkers of the West. - M .: Kron-Press, 1999

John Locke's cultural views.

If we try to characterize Locke as a thinker in the most general terms, then first of all it should be said that he is the successor of the “line of Francis Bacon” in European philosophy of the late 17th - early 18th centuries. Moreover, he can rightfully be called the founder of "British empiricism", the creator of the theories of natural law and social contract, the doctrine of the separation of powers, which are the cornerstones of modern liberalism. Locke stood at the origins of the labor theory of value, which he used to apologize for bourgeois society and to prove the inviolability of the right to private property. He was the first to proclaim that “property arising from labor can outweigh common ownership of land, because it is labor that creates differences in the value of all things.” 17 Locke did much to protect and develop the principles of freedom of conscience and religious tolerance. Finally, Locke created a theory of education that was significantly different from those developed by his predecessors, including the thinkers of the Renaissance.

Locke had a tremendous influence on the European thinkers of the next generation. ... The ideologues of the Northern States of America, including George Washington and the author of the "Declaration of Independence" Thomas Jefferson, relied on his works. Thus, in the person of Locke, we have a philosopher whose work became a turning point in the development of economic, political, ethical ideas in Europe and America. He also made a certain contribution to the development of culturological theory, which, in fact, makes him turn to his theoretical heritage.

John Locke was born in a small town in the county of Somerset in the south-west of England in the family of a petty judicial official who, by his political convictions, belonged to the Puritans of the extreme left (they were colloquially called Independent, that is, independent, because they did not recognize the power of the episcopate and appointed priests of people from their midst). The atmosphere of the house, where work, freedom, sincere faith in God was valued above all virtues, had the most direct impact on the formation of the character of young Locke. Locke owes his father's instructions to his early awakened interest in the issues of religion, law, politics, the study of which he devoted his life. He entered the school at Westminster Abbey quite late (the era was stormy - a civil war was raging in England, which ended with the overthrow and execution of King Charles I and the establishment of the sole rule of Oliver Cromwell, and therefore the mother did not dare to send her son to study for a long time), but this did not prevent he will safely finish the course and enter the College of Christ Church, Oxford University. As the best student with the highest score in the entrance examinations, he was identified as one of the students studying at public expense, which was a great boon for a family that was constantly experiencing financial difficulties. This happened in 1652, and from that moment on, for more than thirty years, Locke's fate was associated with Oxford. Locke graduated from the theological faculty, but refused to be ordained, as required by the university charter for teachers, and therefore he was allowed to teach not the whole complex of disciplines, which was usually read by "graduate" doctors, but only Greek language, rhetoric. A little later, he was allowed to read a course in ethics (it was called at that time "moral philosophy"). As a teacher, Locke entered the medical faculty (he was attracted by natural sciences, and he intensively studied physics, chemistry, biology), but after completing the course, he was denied a doctorate in medicine. The university chronicles speak very vaguely about the reasons for the refusal, but it can be assumed that this was due to the reputation of an atheist and atheist, which was firmly entrenched in Locke since the time of the magistracy and the publication of his first works. But this did not stop Locke, who continued (and quite successfully) to engage in research in his chosen field. Soon his name became known in scientific circles. He meets the greatest physicist of the time, Robert Boyle, and helps him in his experiments. Locke's successes in the scientific field did not go unnoticed. In 1668 (he was then 36 years old) Locke was elected a full member of the Royal Society of London, which, in fact, was (and still is) the National Academy of Sciences of the United Kingdom. Soon he changes his occupation and begins to engage in politics. This was due to his acquaintance with the Earl of Shaftesbury, a famous statesman of the time, who offered him the post of personal secretary and mentor of his children. Gradually Locke becomes his closest adviser and gets the opportunity to influence the processes of big politics. He participates in the preparation of a number of legislative acts, in the development of tactics and strategy of the ruling cabinet, provides delicate services in the field of secret diplomacy to his patron and friend. Political activity more and more captures him, and soon, thanks to his talent, he becomes one of the recognized leaders of the Whig party (this was the name of the party of the middle and large British bourgeoisie, which sought to consolidate the gains of the English bourgeois revolution and prevent the royalists from taking away the freedoms it had won). Thanks to the support of the opposition, Locke is appointed to a number of prominent government posts, where he shows remarkable abilities of a statesman. But soon his successful political career was interrupted. After the fall of the Shaftesbury cabinet and the arrest of his patron, Locke fled to Holland, which in those years was a refuge for emigrants from all over Europe. The royal authorities demand his extradition for trial and execution, but a case intervenes, which dramatically changes the trajectory of Locke's life path. He meets the stadtholder (ruler) of the Dutch Republic, William III of Orange, who, having appreciated his intelligence and political experience, brings him closer to himself. After the overthrow of James II Stuart by William of Orange, who had indisputable rights to the English throne, Locke returned to England, where he became one of the most prominent figures in the new government. He receives the post of Commissioner for Colonies and Trade, heads the committee on monetary reform. At his suggestion, the Bank of England and a number of other financial organizations are being created. At the same time, he is engaged in intensive scientific activities. From under his pen, one after another, economic, political ... treatises come out. He also conducts an active polemic on the pages of newspapers and magazines with his political opponents. Repeatedly speaks in parliament and at meetings of the Royal Council. However, in 1700, due to illness, he left all his posts and settled outside London, in the estate of Lord Mesham, where he was raising his grandson. John Locke died in 1704, being at the height of glory, surrounded by honor * and respect of people who were well aware that with his death a whole historical era was leaving and a new one began, the onset of which John Locke had substantiated and ideologically prepared.

Locke's spiritual legacy is impressive. His works include: Elements of Natural Philosophy, Experience on Tolerance, Two Treatises on Government, Some Thoughts on Education, and finally, the famous treatise Experience on Human Understanding. He also published many articles, letters, notes, where questions of economics, politics, ethics, religion, pedagogy are considered. A number of works were published by Locke under false names (he always feared that he might be comprehended by the fate of the Whig Algernon of Sydney, who was hanged during the time of Charles II for having found in his papers the manuscript Discourses on Government, which defended the theory of social contract), and today it is not possible to identify them.

Among the works of Locke there is no book specifically devoted to the consideration of the issues of cultural studies, but this does not mean that he did not touch them. Analysis of Locke's texts shows that he did not bypass any of the main problems of theoretical cultural studies. He discusses in great detail how human society, culture arose, what laws determine the existence of society, what functions are performed by art, science, religion and law, what is the role of language in the formation of a person as a social being.

It must be said right away that the founder of English sensationalism offers a different concept of society and state than Hobbes, although the starting points for both are the same. Locke proceeds from the fact that the natural state in which people lived at the dawn of their history by no means represents a "war of all against all," as Hobbes wrote about it. From his point of view, initially benevolence and mutual support reigned in human society, for there were few people and each owned a piece of land that he and his loved ones were able to cultivate. The individual owned property that he himself created and did not encroach on the property of his own kind. In other words, Locke believes that private property exists initially, and does not arise at a certain stage in the development of human society. Thus, the starting point for Locke is one of the basic provisions of the philosophy of history, formulated by the ideologists of the English bourgeois revolution in the middle of the 17th century. ...

So, Locke's society in its natural state looks like a society organized on the basis of the principles of equality, justice, and people's independence from each other. In this society, relations between individuals are governed by the norms of morality and religion, but not by law, about which people who are in a state of nature know nothing. But, as individual members of society accumulate property, they have a desire to subjugate their own kind, who, naturally, oppose this. The second prerequisite for discord in society and the destruction of the harmony of relations is the rapid increase in population. With a shortage of land, everyone sees in the other not a friend, but an enemy, dreaming of taking possession of a share of property that does not belong to him. This is how a state of "war of all against all" arises, which lasts until people realize the abnormalities of the current state of affairs. In the process of looking for a way out of this situation, they ultimately come to the idea of ​​the need to establish a state, which is delegated the authority to establish peace by force, to protect property and the life of owners. This agreement is the "social contract" on which the entire pyramid of power, economic and legal relations of modern society rests.

Thus, the state, according to Locke, is an artificial, i.e., cultural formation created by the will and deeds of people.

It follows from this that the genesis of the state repeats the genesis of the culture itself, and the forms of the state correspond to one or another form of culture. The latter, according to Locke's views, does not exist initially, it is not given from above, but is created by people. ...

It is not difficult to notice that such an interpretation of culture in many respects echoes the understanding of culture that is present in the works of Hobbes, for whom culture is also a world created by the hands and minds of people in accordance with their needs and interests.

Close to Hobbesian is Locke's solution to the problem of religion. Locke recognizes it as an integral part of the state machine and believes that it performs important social functions that are not capable of performing other social institutions, in particular morality and law. But he, unlike Hobbes, he does not consider religion a cultural phenomenon.

Faith, in his understanding, is a manifestation of the creative power of the Lord. ... and no gnoseological needs of a person can explain its appearance. It should be noted that Locke put forward his own version of the cosmological proof of the existence of God, however, repeating in many respects the scheme of reasoning of Newton, who believed that apart from God it is impossible to find any source of the activity of matter and consciousness. Locke had a sharply negative attitude towards atheists and even offered to deprive them of their civil rights, because from his point of view, atheists, being born skeptics, lose the ability to obey, do not put the state at all and, ultimately, morally degrade, becoming dangerous for others , law-abiding and God-fearing individuals.

In fairness, it must be said that, being a deist by his religious convictions, Locke did not consider that faith has the Right of priority over scientific thought. Moreover, he insisted that everything incomprehensible to the mind should be rejected. ...

Locke also touched upon the problem of language. ...

From the point of view of the founder of English sensationalism, language is primarily the result of human creation, although God also had a hand in its creation.

However, the role of the Lord consisted only in the fact that he endowed a person with the ability to articulate speech. Yet the words were created by man himself. He also established connections between them, as well as between the objects that they represent. Thus, already in his interpretation of the origin of language, as we can see, Locke is very fundamentally at odds with Hobbes, who assigned God a much more significant role in the creation of speech.

Locke believes that if a person did not have the ability to make sounds with signs of ideas that are born in his brain, and if people were not endowed with the ability to make sounds with general signs that others can understand, then speech would never have arisen and people have not could communicate with each other. But they have these rare abilities, which first of all distinguish them from those animals and birds, for example, parrots, that are able to pronounce articulate sounds. In other words, according to Locke, human speech arises as a consequence of the existence in people of an innate ability to abstraction and generalization, given initially by providence, the ability to connect together an object with its nature thanks to the word.

Words, from Locke's point of view, are directly related to sensory ideas. So, for example, the word “spirit” in its primary meaning is “breath”, “angel”, “messenger. In the same way, other words designate certain ideas that arise in a person as a result of the sensory assimilation of the world or as a result of the internal actions of our spirit. Thus, the basis for the emergence of language is experience, direct sensory contact with objects of the real or ideal world.

Locke describes in detail how general concepts are born / how language develops. He also explains the fact of the existence of many languages, which was a stumbling block for many of his predecessors who dealt with this issue. He also offers a solution to a number of other complex problems, which until / today are in the center of attention of linguists and linguists. It will not be an exaggeration to say that Locke developed an original theory of language, which occupies a worthy place among other concepts created in much later years.

Concluding the consideration of Locke's culturological views, it is necessary to at least briefly dwell on his concept of education. Without going into details, let's say right away that Locke rethought the concept of "the ideal of man." The ultimate goal of upbringing, the "cultivation" of an individual, from his point of view, should not be a comprehensively and harmoniously developed personality, but a person with impeccable manners, practical in character, able to dominate his passions and emotions. In other words, the human ideal is an English gentleman with all his personal characteristics. Locke, in his two treatises on education, talks in the most detailed way about what a child should eat and drink, what clothes it is preferable to wear, how to develop his talents and abilities and prevent the manifestation of bad inclinations, how to protect him from the pernicious influence of servants, in what games should he play and what books should he read, etc. It is worth noting that Locke's pedagogical views are clearly ahead of his time. For example, he strongly opposes the constant use of corporal punishment, believing that "this method of discipline, which is widely used and understandable by educators, is the least suitable of all imaginable." generates in the child an aversion to the fact that the teacher should make him fall in love ”20, gradually turns him into a secretive, evil, insincere creature, whose soul is ultimately inaccessible to a kind word and a positive example. Locke also objects to the widespread practice of petty regulation of the child's behavior at that time. He believes that a young creature is simply not able to remember the numerous rules that etiquette prescribes, and therefore it is simply unreasonable and reprehensible from an ethical point of view to get him to memorize them with the help of corporal punishment. Locke is convinced that a child should be natural in his manifestations, that he does not need to copy in his behavior adults, for whom observance of etiquette is a necessity, and knowledge of the norms of behavior in a given situation is a kind of indicator that distinguishes a well-mannered person from an ill-mannered person. "While children are small," writes Locke, "their lack of secular courtesy in their treatment, if they are only characterized by internal delicacy, ... should be the least concern of parents." the child has an idea of ​​honor and shame. “If you succeeded,” he writes, “to teach children to value a good reputation and be afraid of shame and shame, then you have put in them the right beginning, which will always show its effect and incline them to good ... In this I see a great secret education "22.

Considering the question of the methods of education, Locke gives a special place to dancing. They, from his point of view, "give children decent confidence and ability to hold on and, thus, prepare them for the company of elders." result. Speaking about methods, Locke emphasizes that the efforts of the educator then bring success, if there is trust and respect for each other between him and the person being educated. He writes: “Whoever wants his son to treat him and his precepts with respect should himself treat his son with great respect.” 24 Such a formulation of the question of the relationship between the educator and the educated person was extremely radical for that time, and many reproached Locke is that by his reasoning he destroys traditions and undermines the authority of teachers.

A gentleman, from Locke's point of view, should be able not only to behave impeccably, but also to speak exquisitely and write flawlessly. Among other things, he must be fluent in foreign languages, including those in which the treatises of previous centuries were written - Greek and Latin, and from the “living” languages ​​for learning one should choose the one that is useful to the gentleman for communication and business contacts. A gentleman, from Locke's point of view, should be an excellent rider and swordsman. It is not superfluous to own other types of weapons, for he needs to be able to defend his honor and the honor of his loved ones, but learning poetry and music is not at all, according to Locke, mandatory. The author of Thoughts on Education recognizes that these skills are highly valued in aristocratic society, but they need to be spent so much time that this waste is not rewarded by the result. In addition, as Pshiet Locke, “I have so rarely heard of any capable and business people being praised and appreciated for their outstanding achievements in music, which, I think, among the things that have ever been included in the list of secular talents, she could have been given the last place. ”25 Finally, an English gentleman must be God-fearing, know well and respect the laws of his country.

This is, in the most general terms, the ideal of personality in accordance with the ideas of Locke. It is not difficult to notice that he is fundamentally different from the ideal of man, which is contained in the works of the thinkers of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Locke suggests that society should focus its efforts on creating a new social type based on the purely utilitarian needs of the ruling stratum formed in England as a result of the "glorious revolution" and the "class compromise of 1688". This is a look at the problem of a true representative of his time, the time of the consolidation of various political forces and major transformations in all spheres of social life, which marked the beginning of the transformation of England into the most developed capitalist power of the modern era.

Notes (edit)

17. Locke J. Works: In 2 volumes - T. 2. - M., 1960. - P.26.
19. Locke J. Thoughts on education // Works: In 3 volumes - T.Z. - M., 1988 .-- P.442.
20. Ibid. P.443.
21. Ibid. P.456.
22. Ibid. P.446.
23. Ibid. P.456.
24. Ibid. P.465.
25. Ibid. P.594.

Shendrik A.I. Theory of culture: Textbook. manual for universities. - M .: UNITI-DANA, Unity, 2002.

John Locke is an outstanding philosopher of the 17th century who had a significant impact on the formation of Western philosophy. Before Locke, Western philosophers based their views on the teachings of Plato and other idealists, according to which the immortal soul of a person is a means of obtaining information directly from the Cosmos. Its presence allows a person to be born with a ready-made baggage of knowledge, and he no longer needed to learn.

Locke's philosophy refuted both this idea and the very existence of an immortal soul.

Biography facts

John Locke was born in England in 1632. His parents adhered to puritanical views, which the future philosopher did not share. After graduating with honors from Westminster School, Locke became a teacher. Teaching students the Greek language and rhetoric, he himself continued to study, paying special attention to the natural sciences: biology, chemistry and medicine.

Locke was also interested in political and legal issues. The socio-economic situation in the camp pushed him to join the opposition movement. Locke becomes a close friend of Lord Ashley Cooper - a relative of the king and the head of the opposition movement.

Seeking to take part in the reformation of society, he gives up his teaching career. Locke moved to Cooper's estate and, together with him and several nobles who shared their revolutionary views, prepared a palace coup.

The coup attempt becomes a turning point in Locke's biography. It turns out to be a failure, and Locke, along with Cooper, is forced to flee to Holland. Here, over the next few years, he devotes all his time to the study of philosophy and writes his best works.

Cognition as a result of the presence of consciousness

Locke believed that this is the unique ability of the human brain to perceive, remember and display reality. A newborn baby is a blank sheet of paper, which does not yet have impressions and consciousness. It will be formed during life, based on sensory images - impressions received through the senses.

Attention! According to Locke's ideas, every idea is a product of human thought, which appeared thanks to already existing things.

The main qualities of things

Locke approached the creation of each theory from the standpoint of assessing the qualities of things and phenomena. Every thing has primary and secondary qualities.

The primary qualities include objective data about a thing:

• the form;
• density;
• the size;
• number;
• ability to move.

These qualities are inherent in every object, and focusing on them, a person makes up his own impression of each thing.

Secondary qualities include sensory impressions:

• vision;
• hearing;
• sensations.

Attention! Interacting with objects, people receive information about them, thanks to the images that arise on the basis of sensory impressions.

What is property

Locke adhered to the concept that property is the result of labor. And it belongs to the person who contributed this work. So, if a person planted a garden on the land of a nobleman, then the fruits collected belong to him, and not to the owner of the land. A person should own only the property that he received through his labor. Therefore, property inequality is a natural phenomenon and cannot be eradicated.

Basic principles of cognition

Locke's theory of knowledge is based on the postulate: "There is nothing in the mind that was not previously in the sensation." It means that any knowledge is the result of perception, personal subjective experience.

According to the degree of evidence, the philosopher divided knowledge into three types:

• initial - gives knowledge about one thing;
• demonstrative - allows you to build inferences by comparing concepts;
• higher (intuitive) - evaluates the conformity and inconsistency of concepts directly by reason.

According to John Locke, philosophy gives a person the opportunity to determine the purpose of all things and phenomena, to develop science and society.

Pedagogical principles of education of gentlemen

1. Natural philosophy - it included the exact and natural sciences.
2. Practical Arts - includes philosophy, logic, rhetoric, political and social sciences.
3. The doctrine of signs - unites all linguistic sciences, new concepts and ideas.

According to Locke's theory about the impossibility of natural acquisition of knowledge through the Cosmos and the forces of nature, a person masters the exact sciences only through teaching. Most people are not familiar with the basics of mathematics. They have to resort to strenuous mental work for a long time in order to assimilate mathematical postulates. This approach is also true for the development of natural sciences.

Reference! Also, the thinker believed that the concepts of morality and ethics are inherited. Therefore, people cannot learn the norms of behavior and become full-fledged members of society outside the family.

The educational process should take into account the individual characteristics of the child. The task of the educator is to gradually teach the future gentleman all the necessary skills, which include mastering the entire spectrum of sciences and norms of behavior in society. Locke advocated the separate education of children from noble families and children of commoners. The latter were to be trained in specially created working schools.

Political views

John Locke's political views were anti-absolutic: he advocated a change in the current regime and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. In his opinion, freedom is the natural and normal state of the individual.

Locke rejected Hobbes's notion of "a war of all against all" and believed that the original concept of private property was formed in people much earlier than the establishment of state power.

Trade and economic relations should be built on a simple scheme of exchange and equality: each person seeks his own benefit, produces a product and exchanges it for another. Forcible taking away of goods is a violation of the law.

Locke became the first thinker who took part in the creation of the first founding act of state. He drafted the text of the constitution for North Carolina, which in 1669 was approved and approved by the members of the popular assembly. Locke's ideas were innovative and forward-looking: to this day, all North American constitutional practice is based on his teachings.

Individual rights in the state

Locke considered the basic rule of law three inalienable individual rights that every citizen has, regardless of his social status:

1. for life;
2. to freedom;
3. on the property.

The constitution of the state should be created with an eye on these rights and be the guarantor of the preservation and expansion of human freedom. Violation of the right to life is any attempt at enslavement: the forcible compulsion of a person to any activity, the appropriation of his property.

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Religious views

Locke was a staunch supporter of the idea of ​​the separation of church and state. In his work The Reasonableness of Christianity, he describes the need for religious tolerance. Every citizen (with the exception of atheists and Catholics) is guaranteed freedom of religion.

John Locke considers religion not the basis of morality, but a means of strengthening it. Ideally, a person should not be guided by church dogmas, but independently come to wide religious tolerance.

Locke John, founder of psychological empiricism in philosophy and political writer, b. August 29, 1632 at Ringtone, Sommersetshire. He received his primary education at Westminster School, from where he later entered the University of Oxford. The scholastic philosophy prevailing here did not attract the young pupil, and he devoted himself with particular zeal to the study of natural science and medicine, in which he later enjoyed great fame. In 1667 Locke met Lord Ashley, later Earl of Shaftesbury, with whom he was on friendly terms until his death. Thanks to him, Locke twice held a position in the Ministry of Commerce, 1675-1679 years John Locke spent abroad, mainly in France. In 1682, Shaftesbury, due to the hatred of King Charles II for his resistance to his absolutist theories, fled to Holland. Locke followed him there in 1683, knowing that he was hated by the government for his connections with Shaftesbury. From there he returned in 1688 with William of Orange. Locke died on October 28, 1704. The most important writings of John Locke: "Essay concerning human understanding" ("Experience about human understanding", published in 1689-90), "The treatise on government" ("On civil government", 1689 .), three letters about religious tolerance, the book "Reasonableness of Christianity", "A few thoughts on education", an essay on money and others.

Portrait of John Locke. Painter G. Kneller, 1697

In the history of political doctrines, Locke is known as the first inventor of the scientific theory of constitutionalism. His treatise "On Civil Government" aims to explain the state order that was established in England with the accession to the throne of William of Orange. Locke deduces the origin of the state from the mutual agreement concluded by people among themselves to ensure life, freedom and property.In the state, Locke recognizes two powers: legislative and executive, which include judicial and military. Legislative power is concentrated in parliament, with the king at the head of the executive. Locke's political theory had a stronger influence on Montesquieu and Rousseau.

In the book "On the Rationality of Christianity" John Locke proves the need to recognize the existence of God and divine revelation, because it easily gives people such truths that they either would not have discovered at all, or would have discovered with great difficulty. In letters about religious tolerance, he preaches the need for it, for it should be the principle of all true religion, and especially Christianity based on love for one's neighbor.

In the essay "Thoughts on Education", which gave a strong impetus to the pedagogical movement of the 18th century in Germany, France and Switzerland, John Locke, in contrast to the then scholastics, the education system, proves the need for physical education on a par with spiritual education. In the latter, he gives priority to moral education, that is, the education in a person of good inclinations, a sense of honor, a strong character, etc. Education of the mind with the sciences is also necessary, but for Locke it is in the background. Locke gives a whole system of rules for physical education and a program of scientific education. This composition has not lost its significance to this day.

The essay on money appeared in connection with events of the day Locke. The country became impoverished, the value of the coin fell, only a cut coin was circulating everywhere, Locke advises to accept it only by weight, lower the interest, and thus the value of money will increase. Many ideas, interesting for our time, about capital, wages, taxes, the care of the poor, etc., are immediately expressed.