John Locke
1632-1704
English philosopher and physician. Founder of Modern Empiricism
and political Liberalism.
Author of several essential books that shaped Western philosophical discourse on Epistemology and Political Theory:
- An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
- Two Treatises of Government
- On Liberty
- On Toleration
Most important contributions to Western thought:
- We are born without innate ideas, hence all ideas,
and therefore the knowledge that is derived from them, must be derived
from (sensory) experience.
- All humans, as humans, have three fundamental rights:
- a right to their life,
- a right to their liberty,
- a right to private property.
- Government has no interest in the religious beliefs and practices of individuals as long as those beliefs and practices do not
impinge on the rights of others.
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