John Locke Essays (Examples)

290+ documents containing “john locke”.


Sort By:

Reset Filters
John Locke Rawls a Theory
PAGES 2 WORDS 600


Thirdly, Rawls thinks that one would not choose the principle of average utility from the original position, because of equality that is given by the original position. The original position holds that justice in an ideal society should be guided by the principle opted by everyone if they were in the original position of equality. The equality in this regard refers to the rights and duties of all rational individuals. This would allow the individuals enjoy the equal basic rights and liberties; thus, they would opt for this position.

Question 3

Pure procedural justice differs from other forms of Justice in significant ways. Pure procedural justice involves the fairness given to an individual, without any compromise on the established processes of justice. In this regard, it involves the justice given to an individual by procedure. In other words, there is no formula in judging how just is reached, but by the procedure….

According to Locke man is born with a natural liberty that means he should be free from subordination to 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." (1632-1704)
Man's liberty in society is such that should not be ruled by a legislative power but instead "by consent, in the commonwealth…what the legislative shall enact, according to the trust put in it." (Locke, 1632-1704) Freedom from power that is "absolute, arbitrary" is deemed by Locke to be required and "closely joined with a man's preservation, that he cannot part with it, but by what forfeits his preservation and life together" and that man is not to become a slave through his own consent or the power of others. (1632-1704) According to Locke, God gave the world to all men and because….

John Locke and Two Treatises of Government
Locke's Conception of the State of Nature vs. The State of War

In "Two Treatises of Government" Locke strives to present the notion that a government grounded in the consent of the populace does not necessarily "lay a foundation for perpetual disorder and mischief, Tumult, Sedition and ebellion"(Book II, Chapter I, Sec.25). Locke suggests all of mankind operates on the Law of Nature, within which reason prevails. This Natural Law dictates that all people are equal and independent, and an individual must never harm another in his "life, health, liberty or possessions" (Book II, Ch.II, Sec.6). Natural Law wills the peace and preservation of mankind, and, in essence, is justice.

Locke argues that all people exist in a State of Nature under the influence of Natural Law.

This implies that the natural state of mankind is one of freedom. All people are free to direct their own….

John Locke Was Born in
PAGES 5 WORDS 1540

On the other hand, he suggested that the executive branch was responsible for insuring that the laws are actually obeyed and that it should operate continuously in society. His idea of a legislative body was one of a representative assembly, which would retain and exercise supreme power whenever it assembled. Its members would speak jointly for all people in that society. The executive and federative functions derived wholly from the legislative branch. In emergency situations when the legislature could not convene, the executive branch should exercise its prerogatives, although there could be abuses to such prerogatives. Locke perceived that abuse of power would unduly interfere with the property interests of the governed, who could then protect themselves by withdrawing their consent. This could be in the form of rebellion or revolution, with the end-view of restoring their fundamental rights. Since the existence of civil order or social contract rests….

John Locke are found in the "Declaration of Independence"?
Three values John Locke discussed in his 1690 "Two Treatises of Government" are echoed in the wording of the "Declaration of Independence" of the American colonies, when they wrote their famous letter to George III of England. These were the rights of all human beings to life, liberty, and the pursuit of property. Locke stated that no human being, even when he or she agreed to the social contract implicit in the relationship between the ruler and the ruled, could be deprived of these three rights. Such rights were eternally part of the human condition. The temporary forfeiture of these rights to a sovereign government was only done by the voluntary will of the people of a nation -- a will that could be withdrawn.

Locke argued that to deprive a human being of their right to life was wrong. For a….

John Locke's understanding of freedom and equality is the essential basis of any happy and prosperous society." How would the following individuals react to this quote: ousseau, King Louis the Fourteenth, and Napoleon
ousseau

ousseau is most famous for saying that "Man was/is born free; and everywhere he is in chains." (Social Contract, Vol. IV, p. 131 in Ashcraft, 22). We are born good but are essentially not free since we are forced to live in a pretentious society with conventions and masquerade. The most liberated and content people, according to ousseau, were primitive people since they had no manmade convictions and social niceties to bind them.

Locke's account of the social republic was one of people freely choosing to segregate in bands and create rules for their protection. These obligations are willingly entered into and represent bonds of natural law where people choose a ruler to impose and maintain order and….

Knowledge Bu John Locke
PAGES 3 WORDS 848

Locke
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY QUALITIES

ohn Locke believed that every object has primary and secondary qualities. In other words, he maintained that every object consisted of primary and secondary attributes, which are important to develop the final idea of the object. Primary qualities to him were attributes such as shape, seize, movement etc. Of the object, which remains static, regardless of who the perceiver is and how good or bad the circumstances or conditions are. In other words, primary qualities are independent of the perceiver and his way of perceiving the object and they remain the same for every observer. On the other hand secondary qualities were attributes such as color, and those things that we get from the object including the feelings we derive etc.

Primary qualities are thus "Those qualities of an object in the external world which are thought to be characteristic of the object as it is in itself,….

'"
Yolton follows that with what he believes Locke really meant; "The mental content of any act of awareness or thought" is an "idea" to Locke. But as to the primary qualities, on page 130, Yolton breaks Locke's concept of an object into five "propositions." One, objects "have primary qualities non-relationally"; two, objects are observed "or perceived" to have both primary and secondary qualities"; three, the qualities that one can observe to be "dependent upon other objects" are both "perceivers and other bodies"; four, ideas of primary qualities and primary qualities themselves are connected by the same "relation of resemblance"; and five, "the causation of the perception of all qualities is the behaviour of insensible particles on our sense organs."

Meanwhile, it is the belief of this writer that Locke is justified in drawing distinctions between primary and secondary qualities, no matter that scholars and philosophy students may haggle over what Locke….

..you will find his portrait in the National Portrait Gallery, but demand is insufficient for a postcard to be on sale" (Goldie, 2004). But today Locke's writings are used by a diverse assortment of organizations to bolster or justify their positions. The National ifle Association (NA) (www.nra.org) uses the 137th paragraph of Locke's Second Treatise on Government as an authoritative source to bolster the NA's position on the right to bear arms. "Whereas by supposing they have given up themselves to the absolute arbitrary power and will of a legislator, they have disarmed themselves, and armed him to make a prey of them when he pleases," Locke wrote.
The John Locke Foundation (http://www.johnlocke.org),a think-tank in North Carolina, uses their perceptions of Locke's philosophy to promote a conservative agenda; for example, the group is opposed to the "costly, immoral, and destructive welfare state," and is against "government corruption and wasteful spending." The….

Therefore, the people always maintain the (natural) right to overthrow any state authority that fails to act in the best interest of the people or that excuses itself from respecting the natural rights of the populace (Taylor, 1999).
The fundamental principles underlying Locke's theory of social contract and civil government are that (1) the primary purpose of state legislative authority is to ensure the protection of the natural rights of everyone in society and (2) the failure of holders of state judicial, legislative, and executive authority to uphold the obligations granted to them under social contracts is an outright breach of those contracts, justifying their recession, and the overthrow of unjust state authority, such as witnessed in England in 1688 (Taylor, 1999).

Parallels to Contemporary American Justice:

The most obvious parallels between Locke's theory of social contract and contemporary concepts of American justice is evidenced by Locke's articulation of natural rights as….


If he also bartered away plums that would have rotted in a week, for nuts that would last good for his eating a whole year, he did no injury; he wasted not the common stock; destroyed no part of the portion of goods that belonged to others, so long as nothing perished uselessly in his hands (Locke, 1689).

This quotation indicates that the author believes that a technique such as bartering (which has obvious pecuniary implications) allows one to do "no injury," and that unless one utilizes such pecuniary means to extend the life of perishable goods (referred to as "plums" in this quotation) those who take more of such goods than they can use have "destroyed" such necessities that could have been used by others. Therefore, because the government is the primary entity that creates and utilizes currency that can be exchanged for non-durable items, and which then effectively extends….


With this example, it is not surprising that John Locke is considered an instrument for the right political cause. Aside from the essays that he had written, Locke also has philosophies in the different subjects of life. This includes the role of families in the liberal society, theories on properties and money, ethics and beliefs, and many others.

Locke's contribution to his generation and the modern society focused on the role of the government and the people to each other. Despite of the changing course of politics in the seventeenth century, Locke was able to also shift his intellect effectively. The various political situations that happened in his time had been useful to the future generation because from his works, the contemporary times has gained basis and reference for the ideologies they fight for which are related to Locke's philosophies and writings. As Tim Harris indicated, in his article John Locke:….

S. Constitution as offering much protection but instead view it as being the responsibility of the states to provide protection for private property owners. In the event that the courts "...continue to abdicate their role as the protector of individuals rights, then big government and powerful corporations will continue to run roughshod over the property interest of small landowners." (Liles, 2006, p.372)
Liles holds that the legislature being allowed a leeway that is so constitutionally broad in defining the protections afforded to private property effectively "...defies the necessary checks and balances implicit in our system of government." (p.372) Part of the problem appears to be that the definition applied to 'public use' has become quite lenient over the years and while it in the beginning meant that "the public must own property" it now has been construed to mean that "private parties can own the land so long as the land….

Locke's version of the social contract is essentially a justification for the wealthy to assert political control over everyone else.
Locke's arguments justifying government were liberal, even radical for their time. The popular view was that kings ruled by mandate from God, and were not subject to the consent of the people. Locke's Two Treatises of Government were written during the exclusion crisis, and supported the hig position that the king did not have an absolute right to rule. (Rj) During the exclusion crisis, king Charles had no hier, making his brother James the next in line for the throne. James was a Catholic, which made him very unpopular in protestant England. Parliament repeatedly tried to pass bills excluding James from succession to the throne. Each time, Charles dissolved parliament before the bill could be passed. (Ellywa) Locke's version of social contract theory provides a justification for citizens rejecting Charles's….

John Locke Was the Type
PAGES 4 WORDS 1355


Locke combined the rational, deductive theory of Rene Descartes and the inductive, scientific experimentalism of Francis Bacon and the Royal Society. He gave the estern world the first modern theory of human nature and a new synthesis of the individualistic concept if liberty and the theory of government that was emerging out of the debates over natural law." (Locke 2003) look at Locke's early life shows why his thinking was so well rounded. He first was trained in an area of study that would have led him to become a 'man of the cloth' but instead of choosing that direction he turned to medicine as a field of study. Eventually he was granted the right to practice medicine, and did so, but also began to study in his quest to become a member of the Royal Society. Much of his training had to do with the manner of mankind's attempts….

image
2 Pages
Term Paper

Economics

John Locke Rawls a Theory

Words: 600
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Thirdly, Rawls thinks that one would not choose the principle of average utility from the original position, because of equality that is given by the original position. The original…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
3 Pages
Essay

Government

John Locke 'Second Treatise of

Words: 945
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Essay

According to Locke man is born with a natural liberty that means he should be free from subordination to any "superior power on earth, and not to be…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
5 Pages
Term Paper

Biology

John Locke and Two Treatises of Government

Words: 1609
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Term Paper

John Locke and Two Treatises of Government Locke's Conception of the State of Nature vs. The State of War In "Two Treatises of Government" Locke strives to present the notion that…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
5 Pages
Term Paper

Government

John Locke Was Born in

Words: 1540
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Term Paper

On the other hand, he suggested that the executive branch was responsible for insuring that the laws are actually obeyed and that it should operate continuously in society.…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
2 Pages
Term Paper

Government

John Locke Are Found in the Declaration

Words: 856
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Term Paper

John Locke are found in the "Declaration of Independence"? Three values John Locke discussed in his 1690 "Two Treatises of Government" are echoed in the wording of the "Declaration…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
4 Pages
Essay

Government

John Locke's Understanding of Freedom and Equality

Words: 1103
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Essay

John Locke's understanding of freedom and equality is the essential basis of any happy and prosperous society." How would the following individuals react to this quote: ousseau, King…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
3 Pages
Term Paper

Black Studies - Philosophy

Knowledge Bu John Locke

Words: 848
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Locke PRIMARY AND SECONDARY QUALITIES ohn Locke believed that every object has primary and secondary qualities. In other words, he maintained that every object consisted of primary and secondary attributes, which…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
5 Pages
Term Paper

Black Studies - Philosophy

Human Understanding John Locke's Work

Words: 1666
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Term Paper

'" Yolton follows that with what he believes Locke really meant; "The mental content of any act of awareness or thought" is an "idea" to Locke. But as to the…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
4 Pages
Term Paper

Black Studies - Philosophy

Philosophy - John Locke the

Words: 1269
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

..you will find his portrait in the National Portrait Gallery, but demand is insufficient for a postcard to be on sale" (Goldie, 2004). But today Locke's writings are used…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
3 Pages
Research Proposal

Government

Criminal Justice - John Locke

Words: 947
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Research Proposal

Therefore, the people always maintain the (natural) right to overthrow any state authority that fails to act in the best interest of the people or that excuses itself…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
4 Pages
Essay

Government

John Locke Circumscribing Material Items

Words: 1229
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Essay

If he also bartered away plums that would have rotted in a week, for nuts that would last good for his eating a whole year, he did no injury;…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
7 Pages
Term Paper

Black Studies - Philosophy

John Locke A Brief Biography

Words: 1896
Length: 7 Pages
Type: Term Paper

With this example, it is not surprising that John Locke is considered an instrument for the right political cause. Aside from the essays that he had written, Locke also…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
15 Pages
Essay

Business - Law

John Locke Political Thought on

Words: 4766
Length: 15 Pages
Type: Essay

S. Constitution as offering much protection but instead view it as being the responsibility of the states to provide protection for private property owners. In the event that the…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
6 Pages
Term Paper

Government

John Locke Believes That the

Words: 2156
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Locke's version of the social contract is essentially a justification for the wealthy to assert political control over everyone else. Locke's arguments justifying government were liberal, even radical for…

Read Full Paper  ❯
image
4 Pages
Term Paper

Black Studies - Philosophy

John Locke Was the Type

Words: 1355
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Locke combined the rational, deductive theory of Rene Descartes and the inductive, scientific experimentalism of Francis Bacon and the Royal Society. He gave the estern world the first modern…

Read Full Paper  ❯