John Locke's philosophy and influence

Locke

"The Natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but to have only the law of nature for his rule." John Locke

Locke's Theory of Consent- as one of the most influential social and political philosophers of Western Civilization, John Locke, in his works Two Treatises of Government and Letters Concerning Toleration set the stage for the idea that humans are by nature free and equal. People have rights -- life, liberty and property, and have a foundation of basics that are independent of the laws of any particular group or society. Locke's "theory of mind" is considered by many to be one of the origins of the modern conception of identity and the self, and was one of the first to define the individual self through a paradigm of consciousness. Locke believed that the mind was a blank slate (tabula rasa), open for stimuli from the external world. In opposition to Descartes, Locke believed that humans are born without innate ideas, and instead, experience and sense perception are the basis of all human inquiry (Baird and Kaufmann, 2008, 527-9).

The central paradigm to Locke's political philosophy though is the concept of consent. He begins with the idea of humans in a state of nature in which they are not subject to government, but individual consent allows them to form political societies and move into cooperation with other individuals for the greater good. Tacit consent and express consent are different through -- we all have general obligations when we enter into agreements with others to form society, or anarchy would result. We also have responsibilities for freedom -- through express consent. However, tacit consent is simply participating in what the government has provided (streets, organizations, etc.) Our tacit consent is necessary because we have an obligation to meet basic principles if we are to be a part of that society. These principles have, in theory, been enacted by likeminded individuals who put them in place for the betterment of all -- so that everyone can actualize, own property, have legal and commercial protection, and can supply their own purpose to benefit society as well (Locke, Two Treatises 2.122).

State of Nature - John Locke found that humanity was reasonable and humans were born into perfect freedom -- a natural right. Humans are rational, capable, and cognizant individuals that have the capacity to coexist peacefully. The self, for Locke is "that conscious thinking thing (whatever substance, made up of whether spiritual, or material, simple, or compounded, it matters not) which is sensible, or conscious of pleasure and pain, capable of happiness or misery, and so is concerned for itself, as far as that consciousness extends" (Locke, 1997, 307). The Lockean "self" is self-aware and able to reflect, and is in a fluid process of gradually unfolding and evolving. Contrary to religious philosophy (St. Augustine), Locke does not view humans as basically sinful but in a universal tandem that has capacity for both good and evil. Locke presented two arguments for the existence of God as creator: Humans cannot exist without something that produced them and, therefore, that something must be almighty and omniscient. As for knowledge, Locke believed that "the best and surest way to get clear and distinct knowledge is through examining and judging ideas by themselves" (Locke, 1997, VI: I).

The Family -- Locke lived in a time in which the family was patriarchal and central to the argument of the opponents to limited government. In early-modern England the family structure was more authoritarian, intolerant, and sexist. Locke's political theory had revolutionary implications that could easily be exported to governments, and as an individualist, it is easy to see why Locke would look upon inequality and mindless subjugation as unproductive and antithetical. In this the natural rights family was radical in the sense that it held that everyone born was capable of actualization. The family was a microcosm of government, and also served as a way to train individuals into their roles and responsibilities within society (Ward, 2010, pp. 136-42).

Private Property- in a rather egalitarian way, Locke's view of property can be expressed in three parts: 1) use only as much as needed before it spoils; 2) leave enough for others (don't hoard); and 3) appropriate property through one's own labor (Two Treatises, 2.27-31). This makes sense when thinking about Locke's political philosophy -- since humans must be cooperative to have a just and productive society, each must be able to be comfortable, own land, etc. But not have so much that others cannot actualize themselves. Property, though, for Locke was also life and liberty (Two Treatises 2.87). The idea of property fits in with the consent argument because it allows the reason for accumulation of wealth, the desire to maintain a standard of living, but also then not only an obligation to society, but an obligation to others to remove that society should it become coercive or prevent the rights to life, liberty and estate.