The philosophy of John Locke
In this lesson from a TEACHER we will do a short summary of J's philosophyohn locke, one of the parents ofempiricismand also of liberalism and that he has laid the foundations of modern capitalist society. Although he studied medicine and for some time practiced this profession, the English philosopher always showed an interest in political affairs, so when he was forced to flee from England to France and Holland, he began his journey in the countryside of what political and social. He also felt great concern about matters economic and religious. If you want to know more about the philosophy of John Locke, continue reading this lesson.
“Because each man is, as he showed himself, naturally free, without anything being able to put him in subjection, under any power on earth, other than his own consent.”
Locke, in opposition to the absolutism of the time, affirms that national sovereignty resides in the people, from which the power of the state emanates freely and reciprocally. For its part, the state was obliged to safeguard the rights of the people, the most important being the right to personal liberty or private property. It is for this, vital, for the constitution of society, that
guy be happy.“Men always forget that human happiness is a disposition of the mind and not a condition of circumstances "
The type of government that John Locke is betting on would be composed of a monarch and a parliament, expression of the popular will. This government would be subject to the principles of popular sovereignty and legality and obliged to respect the rights of the people. Likewise, he was betting on a separation of powers: legislative and executive. Later, this idea would be more widely developed by Montesquieu.
“Every man has a property over his own person. No one has a right to it, except himself "
The father of modern liberalism had a great influence on the philosophers of his time, mainly Adam Smith, David hume, Condillac, and as we have already pointed out, in Montesquieu. But it is probable that Locke's greatest achievement consisted in having played a determining role, both in the North American Constitution, like in the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
“Everything that the mind perceives in itself, or everything that is the immediate object of perception, thought or understanding, I call that idea; And to the power to produce any idea in the mind, I call the quality of the subject in whom that power resides.”
It is possibly the most important work of John Locke, and in it, the empiricist philosopher, denies the existence of innate ideas in the human mind, versus rationalism. Thus, Locke conceives the mind as a clean sheet, that is, a blank page, and theard the knowledge comes from experience, from the data of the senses and of the own mental activity. Therefore, all knowledge of reality is only possible through sensible experience.
“The knowledge of no man here can go beyond his experience”
To the very activity of the mind, you will call, Locke, "reflection".
“Another operation that we can observe in the mind with respect to his ideas is composition, by which the mind brings together various of those simple ideas that he has received by way of sensation and reflection, and he combines them to form ideas complex”
In addition to innate ideas, Locke will deny the eexistence of all value absolutor, less in the case of mathematics, even those related to the moral order.
“(...) Things, therefore, are good or bad only in relation to pleasure or pain. We call good that which is capable of causing or increasing pleasure in us or diminishing pain. (...) And, on the contrary, we call evil that which is capable of producing or increasing any pain in us, or diminishing any pleasure ”
