John Locke was one of the most prominent English philosophers and physicians of the 17th century who was born on August 29, 1632, in the town of Wrington, Somerset in England to a puritan family. He was a supporter of natural laws within the government society. He had a significant contribution in the advancement of liberalism due to which he was named as the father of liberalism in philosophy. Also recognized as a profoundly powerful rationalist, expounding on the political way of thinking and education. John Locker’s mother’s name was Agnes keen and his father’s name was also John Locke. His father served as a captain in the military army during an American civil war and he was a lawyer as well. His father’s involvement in law and politics influenced his thinking by birth. He attended Westminster school in London, where he learned to speak Hebrew and Arabic. And after that, he went to one of the biggest universities in Christ Church, the University of Oxford to study medicine, science, and philosophy in 1652. His parent’s thoughts and convictions helped him form his assessments of life and nature. Locke had two other siblings, Thomas Locke and Peter Locke. Locke’s ideas argued with the teachings of many other philosophers on the elements like liberty and power. Although, he grew up in a household of puritans that helped him influence his ideologies and viewpoints on shaping western culture.
Philosophy of John Locke
As stated before that John Locke was a believer in natural laws and individual rights. Locke’s most outstanding thought was that everybody is brought into the world with the same right to life, freedom, and property. His theory on refuting the divine right of kings which denotes the idea that the government is ethically committed to serving individuals (specifically by ensuring life, freedom, and property). He accepted that it was dependent upon humans to rebuff the individuals who conflicted with the law of nature. He enlightened society by exploring his writings in numerous texts. In one of his famous writing called “The Two Treatises of Government”, he shielded the claim that “men are commonly free and equivalent by nature”. He believed every human has natural rights and government may not encroach. Locke stated that the power of government is limited to the public good. He depicts that the responsibility of the government is the “protection of the general public and each individual in it'(Locke, Treatises). For example, if someone from another community interferes and violates another community’s religious beliefs and promotes hatred against that religion, then the government has full authority to intervene and resolve the conflicts in order to secure individual or the community charter rights and freedoms. John Locke likewise promoted religious toleration, with secularism being the one outstanding exception(Broers). Similar beliefs were portrayed in his other textual evidence called “Letter Concerning Toleration” (1689-92).
His theories explored that humans are brought into the world with clear personalities and they learn everything from their personal experiences and ideas, which are recorded into this clear state of mind and stay until we pass on. Locke would be an enormously influential figure who strongly supported that all morality and human behavior are governed under natural law and every human must comply with it. His most of the theories and beliefs were inspired by other famous personalities such as John Rawls and Jean Jacques Rousseau. According to his philosophy in “Tabula Rasa” (also called “Blank Slate” in Latin) morals and ethics are more momentous parts of learning than any other sort of learning. His philosophy states that no human is born with no prior knowledge or morality, everything is fabricated in humans after birth through their senses. For example, he thinks subjects such as math, geography, etc, instructed to children aren’t beneficial at all. Rather than this, they ought to be educated about human conduct and ethical quality. For Locke, education isn’t what you accomplish through books it’s more you accomplish from your ethics, which you can really apply to day-by-day life. His perspective states that education is a “principle of virtues”.
Strengths and weaknesses
John Locke was an illuminated mastermind and researcher, whose discoveries are yet used up in the present time. For example, his ideas on right to life, liberty, and property are considered fundamental rights today. Also, his thoughts on separating powers is utilized in the current-day lawful framework. His one of biggest strengths is that he explored the idea of diversity by giving people a chance to practice and believe in their own religion to maintain harmony, peace, and stability in society.
Locke felt that each and every individual born in this world has the right to own property without the obstruction of government. This theory of John Locke still prevails today and is really appreciated and adopted by society. For example, in the present time, “section 8 states the right to protection from unseizable search and seizure”, which reflects Locke’s opinion that every citizen has full protection against personal and informational search.
Despite the pros, his theories had many cons as well. First, he thinks that a human is sensible enough to predict the sentencing for a crime, which is not justifiable in every situation. For example, it is sufficient to base on laws to benefit society as an entire, yet it gives no direction and guidelines for individuals to settle on moral choices.
John Locke’s views on abortion
In today’s world abortion is known to be a really gigantic issue. As indicated by John Locke, people have a natural right to property and through this, he implies the right to ownership. Locke believed if the pregnancy is unwanted or has complications in which she might have a chance to die, then a woman has the right to proprietorship to secure herself first, without the intercede of the government or some other person. But on the other hand, he is befuddled to a certain extent. He concludes that the natural rights of individuals should be preserved. Aborting a child is no less than a homicide. When a baby is developing inside the womb of the mother, it is being fabricated as a separate individual. On the off chance that an infant can’t talk or respond for itself, it doesn’t imply he has no rights. But yet, it is the responsibility of the parents to preserve their kids since they are not of motivation to secure themselves. Locke conflicted that nothing is less defensive than ending a premature infant.
At last, his speculations infer that regardless of what the circumstance of the mother is, she should bring the baby to the world and let him carry on with his life as she has no control over it. The kid is blameless and has no shortcomings. In the event that the dad or mother committed the error, they should sustain it too.
John Locke’s Views on Civil Disobediance
Personally, as a John Locke, I would definitely support civil disobedience. His theories imply that a man has the right or ability to resolve his disputes and conflicts himself. According to him, everyone has to be treated equally without any discrimination. As already stated, he believed that every individual in this world was born with the same rights and freedoms. And if something biased or unjust law is prevailing in society then humans should fight against it. For example, the Canadian government would imply a law that only whites ought to get the right to vote while all other communities are denied voting privileges. Then John Locke would definitely battle against these unjust laws and would support other communities to achieve their fundamental rights. Since he accepts everyone is a part of a nation and everyone should get a fair chance to choose a government of their choice. Nobody should be denied their basic fundamental rights. The comparable idea also prevailed in the movie Selma, where the black community marched in a civil disobediance movement to attain basic equal voting rights. If John Locke was present there during that time when black Americans were denied voting rights, he would surely have protested and done likewise. This concludes, that it was up to the people to punish or overthrow the government that went against their society’s needs.
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