Biographical information. John Locke (1632 - 1704) - English philosopher. Born into a lawyer's family, he studied at Oxford, where he received a master's degree.

Locke's focus is on problems of epistemology and social philosophy (politics, ethics and pedagogy).

Main works. “An Essay on Human Reason” (1690), “Two Treatises on Government” (1690), “Letters on Tolerance” (1691), “Thoughts on Education” (1693).

Philosophical views. Ontology. Locke is deist 2 : Recognizing the creation of the world by God, he explains the existing physical world as a whole materialistically and mechanically. Newton influenced his ideas about the structure of this world.

Epistemology and sensationalism. Locke's main work, “An Essay Concerning the Human Mind,” is devoted to the problems of epistemology. If Fr. Bacon, Descartes, Newton focused their attention on scientific methodology, i.e. the correct use of reason in scientific knowledge of the world, then the central theme for Locke was the human mind itself, its boundaries, abilities and functions. The most important role in his teaching is played by the concept of “ideas”.

The concept of “idea” is one of the most complex and polysemantic in the entire history of philosophy. Introduced into philosophical terminology by Plato, it had significantly transformed by the time of Locke. Therefore it is necessary to clarify what Locke calls ideas everything that, existing in human consciousness, is the object of human thinking: images of sensory things, abstractions (for example, number, infinity, etc.) and thoughts (expressed in sentences).

Polemicizing with Descartes, Locke consistently defends the thesis that there are no innate ideas - neither theoretical (scientific laws) nor practical ( moral principles), including man does not possess an innate idea of ​​God. All ideas existing in human consciousness arise from experience. The soul of a newborn child is a white sheet of paper or a “blank slate” (“tabularaza”), and all the material with which the mind operates is taken from the experiences gained during life.

Ideas happen simple(received from one sense organ - sound, color, etc.) and complex(received from several senses). Thus, the idea of ​​an apple is complex, consisting of a number of simple ones: spherical shape, green color, etc.

Experience is divided into external where sensations come to us, and internal, in which we are dealing with reflection (internal activity of the soul, movement of thought).

Objects existing in the external world evoke simple ideas (sensations) in a person. Analyzing them, Locke develops theory of primary and secondary qualities 3 . Ideas are similar to the properties of the corresponding objects - the so-called primary qualities, i.e. objectively inherent in these objects: extension, figure, density, movement. Or they may not be similar - the so-called secondary qualities, i.e. not inherent as such in the objects themselves; they represent our subjective perception of primary qualities: color, sound, smell, taste. From this raw material the human mind, acting by connecting, mapping and abstracting, makes up complex ideas.

Among the ideas in the human mind, Locke distinguishes between clear and vague, real and fantastic, corresponding to their prototypes and not corresponding. Knowledge is true only when ideas correspond to things. Thus, laying the foundations of sensationalism, Locke not only asserts that sensations are the sources, but also that they (and not reason - as was the case with Descartes) are the criterion of truth.

He views the process of cognition as the perception and understanding of consistency and inconsistency between our ideas. The very consistency between the two ideas can be understood intuitively or through proof. So, intuitively we understand that white and black are different colors that a circle is not a triangle, three is greater than two and equal to two plus one. Where it is immediately impossible to clearly and distinctly understand the similarity and difference of ideas, we need evidence, i.e. a series of intermediate steps in which we compare the ideas we are interested in with one or more others. Thus, proof is ultimately also based on intuition.

Intuition and proof operate in cases where we are talking about the consistency and inconsistency of ideas in our minds. But in the process of cognition, the consistency or inconsistency of ideas with objects of the external world is also extremely important. This occurs through sensory cognition. Thus, Locke distinguishes three types of knowledge:

Ethics. Consistently developing his teaching, Locke criticizes the concept, popular at that time, of the innateness of moral ideas. He points out that different peoples have different ideas about good and evil, so the assertion that all people have such ideas as innate has no basis. In fact good - it is something that can cause or increase pleasure, reduce suffering, protect from evil. A evil may cause or increase suffering or deprive pleasure. Pleasure and pain themselves are simple ideas of the senses, comprehended by experience. Happiness is the presence of maximum pleasure and minimum suffering. The pursuit of happiness is the basis of all freedom, and freedom itself consists of the opportunity and ability to act and refrain from action.

Locke divides the laws that usually guide people in their lives into three groups:

All morality is based on divine laws received by men through Revelation, but these laws are compatible with the laws of “natural reason”, on the basis of which civil laws and laws of popular opinion are created.

Social philosophy. Locke is a supporter constitutional monarchy, but royal power has no Divine foundation. Like Hobbes, he believes that the state arose through a “social contract.” But unlike Hobbes, who argued that in the state of nature the relationship “man to man - wolf” reigned, Locke believes that the relationship “man to man – friend” reigned there.

Since all people are equal and independent, no one should harm the life, health, freedom and property of other people. Hence, natural rights are: the right to life, the right to freedom. The right to property and the right to protect these rights.

The fate of the teaching. Locke's teaching is at the origins of the entire philosophy of the Enlightenment; he is most often called the first Enlightenment. Locke's teaching also served as the basis for the further development of sensationalism in philosophy. In addition, it should be noted that his teaching on human rights contributed to the formation of the ideology of liberalism.

John Locke is an English philosopher of modern times, whose works date back to the era of restoration in England, who went down in history primarily as the founder of the empiric-materialist theory of knowledge.

His works reflected a large number of features of that time: the clash of modern trends and medieval thinking, the transition to a capitalist society from a feudal one, the unification and rise to power of two political parties, "Whigs" and "Tories", which led to the completion of the process of turning England into a powerful power.

Locke was a supporter of the bourgeoisie and social-class compromise, formed the basic principles of the doctrine of liberalism, contributed and did much to develop the principles and defense of freedom of conscience and religious tolerance (the most striking of the works on this topic is the “Epistle on Toleration” (1689)), which is especially relevant in the modern world.

In his thinking, Locke is based on the theory of knowledge (epistemology); he thinks systematically, in such a way that one follows from the other.

Locke can be classified as a representative of the Natural Science direction of materialism (along with such figures as Bacon and Spinoza), that is, based on specific sciences and knowledge.

Materialism is a philosophical movement that recognizes the primacy of matter and the secondary nature of consciousness.

The main works are:

"An Essay on Human Understanding" (1690), containing an explanation of an entire system of empirical philosophy, which denies the theory of innate ideas and expresses the idea that human knowledge is taken from felt experience.

"Two Treatises on Government" (1690), in which Locke expresses his philosophical, social, Political Views, promotes the theory of the origin of property from labor, and state power from the social contract.

Locke laid the foundations for the ideology of the Enlightenment and had a strong influence on many thinkers, including Berkeley, Rousseau, Diderot and many others.

In An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke expresses compromise solutions to political and religious issues in the form of philosophical materialism. And the work "Elements of Natural Philosophy", created in recent years Locke's life, shows the philosopher's views on the structure of the world based on the ideas of Newton's physics. This is natural philosophy (natural philosophy) and the word “God”, who provided for the laws of nature, is mentioned only once, and in the opposite way: “nature has provided for...”.

Locke considered the resolution of epistemological problems his most important task, but at the same time he did not reduce his entire philosophy to the theory of knowledge. His entire theory of knowledge ideologically borders on fundamental philosophical premises: sensations are not an invention of the imagination, but natural processes operating independently of us, but at the same time influencing us.

In the elements of natural philosophy, the influence exerted on Locke by Newton is noticeable, for this entire work is a reflection of Newton’s vision of the picture of the world, although the influence of Boyle and Gassendi and their atomism is also noticeable: Atoms move in the void according to the laws of unified mechanics, the question of the ether remains unfinished.

Locke was convinced that the Newtonian forces of gravity and inertia constituted a dynamic structure in the world, but he did not exclude the possibility of the presence of other, as yet unknown forces; rather, he was confident that they would be discovered in the future.

The main motive of all Locke's theoretical constructions is the existence of a physical, material world, divided into countless parts, elements and fragments, but united in its laws.

His second motive is that human well-being is impossible without putting the forces of nature at the service of people. "...If only the use of iron had stopped among us, in a few centuries we would have reached the level of poverty and ignorance of the natives ancient America whose natural abilities and wealth were in no way worse than those of the most prosperous and educated nations"

To master nature, it is necessary to know it, and for the possibility of knowledge it is necessary to know the nature and properties of the external world, as well as the properties and system of cognitive abilities of the person himself.

The problem of knowing the existence of the world that exists outside of us was divided by Locke into 4 questions:

1) Is there a diverse world of material objects?

2) What are the properties of these material objects?

3) Does material substance exist?

4) How does the concept of material substance arise in our thinking and can this concept be distinct and accurate?

The answer to the first question, according to Locke, can be considered positive; the answer to the second question can be obtained with the help of a specially conducted study. The answer to the 3rd question says that if there is a universal basis for things, then it must be material; matter in Locke’s thoughts carries “the idea of ​​a dense substance, which is the same everywhere.” If matter did not have other properties, then the diversity of the empirical world turned out to be ephemeral, then it would be impossible to explain why those around us have different properties, hardness, strength, etc.

But we cannot finally admit that material substance is the only one, because Locke does not fully resolve the question of spiritual substance in his reasoning.

In the fourth question, the concept of material substance seems somewhat incomprehensible to Locke; in his opinion, there is certainly a transition from homogeneous matter to a diverse world, but the reverse option is unlikely. A skeptical attitude towards the “reverse process” can be associated with the fact that Locke associates it with the scholastic separation of the concept of substance from experience.

Locke considers philosophical substance to be a product of the thinking imagination.

The concept and judgments that carry knowledge and innate principles, or in other words, the doctrine of innate ideas in the 17th century. was the main idealistic concept of extra-empirical consciousness, as well as a “platform” for ideas about spiritual substance for storing innate ideas. This theory was shared by many philosophers of the time, although it had its roots in ancient times. The ideas of the 17th century coincided with the ancient statement about the immateriality of souls in connection with their divine origin.

Locke directed his criticism against the Cambridge followers of Plato (essentially the founder of the theory of innate ideas), the supporters of this idea from Oxford, and other adherents who relied on the medieval Neoplatonic tradition.

Thinkers insisted primarily on the innateness of moral principles, and Locke primarily criticized ethical nativism, but he did not ignore Descartes’ supporters with their epistemological nativism.

In all cases, Locke criticized idealism specifically.

Judgments about the innateness of knowledge of sensory qualities, the innateness of concepts, judgments and principles, Locke considers unfounded, as well as contrary to reason and experience, refutes the argumentation of the opposite side, based on the imaginary fact of the “general agreement” of people, the unstable evidence of the laws of logic and the axioms of mathematics, on the fragile hopes of discovering innate ideas in children isolated from society, whose minds are not clouded by external experience. In his criticism, Locke successfully and skillfully uses the reports of travelers, memoirs, as well as his knowledge of medicine, psychology and ethnography.

Locke decisively rejects the idea of ​​nativists about the innateness of the ideas of God and his commandments; he classifies it as a complex idea and relatively late formed. He also emphasizes that this idea of ​​\u200b\u200bspecial is beneficial to those who want to control people "in the name of the supreme ruler."

Locke philosopher empiricism liberalism

This statement by Locke most likely refers to the feudal lords and high priests who used nativism to promote ferocious intolerance.

While denying innate ideas, Locke did not reject innate needs, aspirations, affects, and behavioral characteristics. Modern science does not deny, these thoughts are called general concept- inherited structure of the nervous system.

The critique of the theory of innate ideas is the starting point for Locke's entire theory of knowledge and pedagogy, and it helped in further analysis of the emergence and development, boundaries and composition, structure and ways of testing knowledge.

In ethics for Locke, the denial of innate principles of morality played an important role: it helped to connect the concept of “good” with pleasure and benefit, and the concept of “evil” with harm and suffering, thus giving birth to the doctrine of “the natural law of morality” and natural law in its ethical interpretation.

Some discrepancy can be noticed in the relationship between the principles of morality and the requirements of reason. In Chapter 3 of “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” Locke gives many examples of peoples living in different places and conditions, who are considered to have different, or even completely opposite, actions of a moral and anti-moral nature. European peoples mainly try to act in such a way as to look good in the eyes of others, while not always paying attention to “divine” laws or state laws. Then it turns out that the universal human mind uttering a solid moral framework is an illogical concept. Most likely this is due to the development of Locke's philosophical views and political changes in the country.

Locke believed that all human knowledge comes from individual experience. This thesis was put forward by the Epicureans, and they already interpreted it sensually. Also earlier, Bacon, Gassendi and Hobbes directed their views in this direction, but they all looked “one-sidedly,” and Locke managed to comprehensively substantiate empiricism in terms of materialistic sensationalism. Locke sought to identify the essence of experience - origin, structure and development. He used the principle of generalizing combination put forward by Bacon. He also applied this principle to sensations and thereby revealed their interaction.

To understand sensory experience, Locke considered it both as a source of information about the world and as a means intended for the construction of science. Accordingly, it was necessary to stage targeted experiments and experiments, to reject false assumptions and conclusions. He distinguished between the erroneous interpretation of reason as the absolute original source of knowledge and its fruitful understanding as the initiator and organizer of cognitive and, accordingly, sensory activity. The first was rejected by him, and the second was accepted, supported and developed.

The anti-rationalistic principle of the immediate givenness of the elements of sensory experience, as well as the immediacy of establishing their truth, originates from Locke. He believes that each of the individual sensations is given to a person in the field of his sensory experiences as a kind of reality that is homogeneous in itself, inseparable into various components and stable in its quality.

According to Locke, experience is everything that affects a person’s consciousness and is acquired by him throughout his life. “All our knowledge is based on experience, and from it, in the end, it comes.” The initial part of all knowledge is sensations caused by the influences of the external world.

According to Locke, experience is smoothed out of ideas; the human mind “sees” ideas and directly perceives them. By idea, Locke means a separate sensation, the perception of an object, its sensory representation, including a figurative memory or fantasy, the concept of an object or its individual property. Among the ideas are acts - intellectual, emotional and volitional.

“If I sometimes speak of ideas as being in things themselves, this is to be understood in such a way that by them we mean those qualities in objects which give rise to ideas in us,” writes Locke.

By including various processes and functions of the human psyche in the category of ideas, he creates the prerequisites for separating this group of ideas into a special category. Ideas presupposing the presence of other ideas are formed and function on the basis of the fact that the mind within itself is aware of these latter, and, accordingly, cognizes them - for Locke, in many cases, the awareness of simple ideas is already their knowledge.

The philosopher divides experience into two groups: external experience and internal experience, or in other words, reflection, which can only exist on the basis of external (sensory) experience. Sensory perception of objects and phenomena around us and acting on us “is the first and simplest idea that we receive from reflection.”

To further study reflection, Locke considers it necessary to seriously analyze precisely simple, and therefore primary, ideas.

At the same time, he leaves open the question: which ideas are primary? One of the paragraphs of the “experience of human understanding” is even called: “which ideas are first is not clear.” There are also controversial issues regarding simple ideas, because the very idea of ​​“simplicity” is not simple.

Thus, from the above material it is clear that J. Locke made a significant contribution to the development of philosophy and rightfully occupies an important place in it.

, Wrington, Somerset, England - October 28, Essex, England) - British educator and philosopher, representative of empiricism and liberalism. Contributed to the spread of sensationalism. His ideas had a huge influence on the development of epistemology and political philosophy. He is widely recognized as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers and theorists of liberalism. Locke's letters influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, and American revolutionaries. His influence is also reflected in the American Declaration of Independence.

Locke's theoretical constructs were also noted by later philosophers such as David Hume and Immanuel Kant. Locke was the first thinker to reveal personality through the continuity of consciousness. He also postulated that the mind is a "blank slate", that is, contrary to Cartesian philosophy, Locke argued that people are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience gained by sense perception.

Biography

So, Locke differs from Descartes only in that he recognizes instead of the innate potencies of individual ideas general laws, leading the mind to the discovery of reliable truths, and then does not see a sharp difference between abstract and concrete ideas. If Descartes and Locke speak of knowledge in apparently different language, the reason for this is not a difference in their views, but a difference in their goals. Locke wanted to draw people's attention to experience, while Descartes occupied a more a priori element in human knowledge.

A noticeable, although less significant, influence on Locke’s views was exerted by the psychology of Hobbes, from whom, for example, the order of presentation of the Essay was borrowed. In describing the processes of comparison, Locke follows Hobbes; together with him, he argues that relations do not belong to things, but are the result of comparison, that there are countless numbers of relations, which is more important relationships are identity and difference, equality and inequality, similarity and dissimilarity, contiguity in space and time, cause and effect. In his treatise on language, that is, in the third book of the Essay, Locke develops the thoughts of Hobbes. In his doctrine of the will, Locke is very dependent on Hobbes; together with the latter, he teaches that the desire for pleasure is the only thing that passes through our entire mental life and that the concept of good and evil in different people completely different. In the doctrine of free will, Locke, along with Hobbes, argues that the will inclines towards the strongest desire and that freedom is a power that belongs to the soul, not the will.

Finally, a third influence on Locke should be recognized, namely the influence of Newton. So, Locke cannot be seen as an independent and original thinker; for all the great merits of his book, there is a certain duality and incompleteness in it, stemming from the fact that he was influenced by so many different thinkers; That is why Locke’s criticism in many cases (for example, criticism of the ideas of substance and causality) stops halfway.

The general principles of Locke's worldview boiled down to the following. The eternal, infinite, wise and good God created a world limited in space and time; the world reflects the infinite properties of God and represents infinite diversity. The greatest gradualness is noticed in the nature of individual objects and individuals; from the most imperfect they pass imperceptibly to the most perfect being. All these beings are in interaction; the world is a harmonious cosmos in which every being acts according to its nature and has its own specific purpose. The purpose of man is to know and glorify God, and thanks to this, bliss in this and in the other world.

Much of the Essay now has only historical significance, although Locke's influence on later psychology is undeniable. Although Locke, as a political writer, often had to touch upon issues of morality, he did not have a special treatise on this branch of philosophy. His thoughts about morality are distinguished by the same properties as his psychological and epistemological reflections: a lot of common sense, but no true originality and height. In a letter to Molyneux (1696), Locke calls the Gospel such an excellent treatise of morals that the human mind can be excused if it does not engage in studies of this kind. "Virtue" says Locke, “considered as a duty, is nothing other than the will of God, found by natural reason; therefore it has the force of law; as for its content, it consists exclusively in the requirement to do good to oneself and others; on the contrary, vice represents nothing more than the desire to harm oneself and others. The greatest vice is that which entails the most disastrous consequences; Therefore, all crimes against society are much more important than crimes against a private individual. Many actions that would be completely innocent in a state of solitude naturally turn out to be vicious in the social order.". Elsewhere Locke says that “It is human nature to seek happiness and avoid suffering”. Happiness consists of everything that pleases and satisfies the spirit, suffering consists of everything that worries, upsets and torments the spirit. To prefer transitory pleasure to long-lasting, permanent pleasure means to be the enemy of your own happiness.

Pedagogical ideas

He was one of the founders of the empiric-sensualist theory of knowledge. Locke believed that man has no innate ideas. He is born being a “blank slate” and ready to perceive the world around him through his feelings through internal experience - reflection.

“Nine-tenths of people become what they are only through education.” The most important tasks of education: character development, will development, moral discipline. The purpose of education is to raise a gentleman who knows how to conduct his affairs intelligently and prudently, an enterprising person, refined in his manners. Locke envisioned the ultimate goal of education as ensuring a healthy mind in a healthy body (“here is a short, but full description happy state in this world").

He developed a system for educating a gentleman, built on pragmatism and rationalism. Main feature systems - utilitarianism: every subject should prepare for life. Locke does not separate education from moral and physical education. Education should consist in ensuring that the person being educated develops physical and moral habits, habits of reason and will. Target physical education consists in forming from the body an instrument as obedient to the spirit as possible; the goal of spiritual education and training is to create a straight spirit that would act in all cases in accordance with the dignity of a rational being. Locke insists that children accustom themselves to self-observation, to self-restraint and to victory over themselves.

The upbringing of a gentleman includes (all components of upbringing must be interconnected):

• Physical education: promotes development healthy body, developing courage and perseverance. Health promotion, fresh air, simple food, hardening, strict regime, exercises, games.
• Mental education should be subordinate to the development of character, the formation of an educated business person.
• Religious education should be directed not at teaching children to rituals, but at developing love and respect for God as a supreme being.
• Moral education is to cultivate the ability to deny oneself pleasures, go against one’s inclinations and unswervingly follow the advice of reason. Developing graceful manners and gallant behavior skills.
• Labor education consists of mastering a craft (carpentry, turning). Work prevents the possibility of harmful idleness.

The main didactic principle is to rely on the interest and curiosity of children in teaching. The main educational means are example and environment. Lasting positive habits are cultivated through gentle words and gentle suggestions. Physical punishment is used only in exceptional cases daring and systematic disobedience. The development of will occurs through the ability to endure difficulties, which is facilitated by physical exercise and hardening.

Contents of training: reading, writing, drawing, geography, ethics, history, chronology, accounting, native language, French, Latin, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, fencing, horse riding, dancing, morality, the most important parts of civil law, rhetoric, logic, natural philosophy, physics - that’s what you should know educated person. To this should be added knowledge of a craft.

The philosophical, socio-political and pedagogical ideas of John Locke constituted an entire era in the formation pedagogical science. His thoughts were developed and enriched by the progressive thinkers of France in the 18th century, and were continued in pedagogical activity Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and Russian enlighteners of the 18th century, who, through the mouth of M.V. Lomonosov, called him among the “wise teachers of mankind.”

Locke pointed out the shortcomings of his contemporary pedagogical system: for example, he rebelled against Latin speeches and poems that students were required to compose. Training should be visual, material, clear, without school terminology. But Locke is not an enemy of classical languages; he is only an opponent of the system of their teaching practiced in his time. Due to a certain dryness characteristic of Locke in general, he does not devote much space to poetry in the system of education he recommends.

Rousseau borrowed some of Locke's views from Thoughts on Education and brought them to extreme conclusions in his Emile.

Political ideas

• The state of nature is a state of complete freedom and equality in the disposal of one's property and one's life. This is a state of peace and goodwill. The law of nature dictates peace and security.
• Natural law - the right to private property; the right to freedom of movement, to free work and to its results.
• Supporter of constitutional monarchy and social contract theory.
• Locke is a theorist of civil society and a legal democratic state (for the accountability of the king and lords to the law).
• He was the first to propose the principle of separation of powers: legislative, executive and federal. The federal government deals with the declaration of war and peace, diplomatic issues and participation in alliances and coalitions.
• The state was created to guarantee natural rights (freedom, equality, property) and laws (peace and security), it should not infringe on these rights, it should be organized so that natural rights are reliably guaranteed.
• Developed ideas for a democratic revolution. Locke considered it legitimate and necessary for the people to rebel against a tyrannical government that encroaches on the natural rights and freedom of the people.

He is best known for developing the principles of the democratic revolution. "The right of the people to rise against tyranny" is most consistently developed by Locke in Reflections on the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which is written with an openly expressed intention “to establish the throne of the great restorer of English freedom, King William, to remove his rights from the will of the people and to defend before the world the English people for their new revolution.”

Fundamentals of the rule of law

As a political writer, Locke is the founder of a school that seeks to build the state on the beginning of individual freedom. Robert Filmer in his “Patriarch” preached the unlimited power of royal power, deriving it from the patriarchal principle; Locke rebels against this view and bases the origin of the state on the assumption of a mutual agreement concluded with the consent of all citizens, and they, renouncing the right to personally defend their property and punish violators of the law, provide this to the state. The government consists of men chosen by common consent to see to the exact observance of the laws established for the preservation of the general liberty and welfare. Upon his entry into the state, a person is subject only to these laws, and not to the arbitrariness and caprice of unlimited power. The state of despotism is worse than the state of nature, because in the latter everyone can defend his right, but before a despot he does not have this freedom. Breaking a treaty empowers the people to reclaim their sovereign right. From these basic provisions the internal form of government is consistently derived. The state gains power:

All this, however, is given to the state solely to protect the property of citizens. Locke considers the legislative power to be supreme, because it commands the rest. It is sacred and inviolable in the hands of those persons to whom it is given by society, but not limitless:

Execution, on the contrary, cannot stop; it is therefore awarded to permanent bodies. The latter are for the most part granted union power ( "federal power", that is, the law of war and peace); although it differs essentially from the executive, since both act through the same social forces, it would be inconvenient to establish different organs for them. The king is the head of the executive and federal powers. He has certain prerogatives only to promote the good of society in cases unforeseen by law.

Locke is considered the founder of the theory of constitutionalism, insofar as it is determined by the difference and separation of powers of the legislative and executive.

State and religion

In "Letters on Toleration" and in "Reasonability of Christianity, as Delivered in the Scriptures," Locke passionately preaches the idea of ​​tolerance. He believes that the essence of Christianity lies in faith in the Messiah, which the apostles put in the foreground, demanding it with equal zeal from Jewish and pagan Christians. From this Locke concludes that exclusive privilege should not be given to any one church, because all Christian confessions agree in the belief in the Messiah. Muslims, Jews, pagans can be impeccably moral people, although this morality should cost them more work than believing Christians. Locke's strongest insistence is on the separation of church and state. The state, according to Locke, only has the right to judge the conscience and faith of its subjects when the religious community leads to immoral and criminal acts.

In a draft written in 1688, Locke presented his ideal of a true Christian community, undisturbed by any worldly relations and disputes about confessions. And here he also accepts revelation as the basis of religion, but makes it an indispensable duty to tolerate any deviating opinion. The method of worship is left to everyone's choice. Locke makes an exception to the views expressed for Catholics and atheists. He did not tolerate Catholics because they have their head in Rome and therefore, as a state within a state, are dangerous to public peace and freedom. He could not reconcile with atheists because he firmly adhered to the concept of revelation, which was denied by those who deny God.

Bibliography

• The same “Thoughts on Education” with revision. spotted typos and working footnotes
• A Study of the Opinion of Father Malebranche...1694. Notes on Norris's books... 1693.
• An experience about human understanding. (1689) (translation: A. N. Savina)

Major works

• A Letter Concerning Toleration ().
• Essay Concerning Human Understanding ().
• The Second Treatise of Civil Government ().
• Some Thoughts Concerning Education ().

• Locke became one of the founders of the “Contractual” theory of the origin of the state.
• Locke was the first to formulate the principle of “Separation of Powers” ​​into legislative, executive and judicial.
• One of the key characters in the famous television series Lost is named after John Locke.
• Also, the surname Locke was taken as a pseudonym by one of the heroes of Orson Scott Card’s series of science fiction novels “Ender’s Game”. In Russian translation the English name " Locke" incorrectly rendered as " Loki».
• Also, the main character in Michelangelo Antonioni's 1975 film "Profession: Reporter" bears the surname Locke.

Literature

• Zaichenko G. A. Objectivity of sensory knowledge: Locke, Berkeley and the problem of “secondary” qualities // Philosophical Sciences. - 1985. - No. 4. - P. 98-109.

Notes

Links

• John Locke page in the Philosophy and Atheism library
• Locke, John in the Electronic Library of Philosophy
• John Locke's Second Treatise of Government (An Essay on the True Origin, Scope, and Purpose of Civil Government)
• Soloviev E. Locke's phenomenon

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Introduction

During the period of the XIV-XVIII centuries. in Western Europe, the formation of modern nation states. These states, having won the war with the church, concentrated their power within their territory. The state as a centralized structure of government becomes the subject of study. It was at this time that the concept of “state” was formed and theories of state sovereignty were developed. In this regard, the legislative activity of the state is attracting increasing attention from thinkers.

At the same time, two directions in political and legal thought were emerging: liberal-individualist and statist-collectivist. John Locke is one of the founders of classical political liberalism. The formation of liberal political and legal concepts is associated with the awareness of the emerging conflict between the absolutist state and the emerging civil society. In line with this tradition, there is a search for means by which it would be possible to protect the private sphere of life from arbitrary interference of the state in it. Therefore, we are talking about restrictions imposed on state power, about the order of its organization and functioning, methods of legitimation, etc. I.Yu. Kozlikhin, A.V. Polyakov, E.V. Timoshina, History of political and legal doctrines, St. Petersburg, 2007, p. 128..

The purpose of my work is to show the influence of the free-thinking of this thinker on the political situation of England in the 17th and subsequent centuries, what role his ideas played in the development of legal and political theories of other philosophers and educators.

John Locke

Brief biography of John Locke

John Locke (1632-1704) - British educator and philosopher, representative of empiricism and liberalism. His epistemology and social philosophy had a profound impact on cultural and social history, particularly on the development of the American Constitution. Locke was born on August 29, 1632 in Wrington (Somerset) into the family of a judicial official. Thanks to the victory of parliament in civil war, in which his father fought as a cavalry captain, Locke was admitted at the age of 15 to Westminster School - at that time the leading educational institution in the country. In 1652 Locke entered Christ Church College, Oxford University. By the time of the Stuart restoration, his political views could be called right-wing monarchical and in many ways close to the views of Hobbes.

At the age of 34, he met a man who influenced his entire subsequent life - Lord Ashley, later the first Earl of Shaftesbury, who was not yet the leader of the opposition. Shaftesbury was an advocate of liberty at a time when Locke still shared Hobbes's absolutist views, but by 1666 his position had changed and became closer to the views of his future patron. Shaftesbury and Locke saw kindred spirits in each other. A year later, Locke left Oxford and took the place of family physician, adviser and educator in the Shaftesbury family, who lived in London (among his pupils was Anthony Shaftesbury).

Under the roof of Shaftesbury's house, Locke found his true calling - he became a philosopher. Discussions with Shaftesbury and his friends prompted Locke to write the first draft of his future masterpiece, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, in his fourth year in London. Sydenham introduced him to new methods of clinical medicine. In 1668 Locke became a member of the Royal Society of London. Shaftesbury himself introduced him to the fields of politics and economics and gave him the opportunity to gain his first experience in public administration.

After the events of 1688, Locke returns to his homeland after a long stay in France and Holland. Soon he published the work “Two Treatises of Government” (Two Treatises of Government, 1689, the book is marked with the year of publication 1690), outlining in it the theory of revolutionary liberalism. A classic work in the history of political thought, the book also played an important role, in the words of its author, in “vindicating the right of King William to be our ruler.” In this book, Locke put forward the concept of the social contract, according to which the only true basis for the power of the sovereign is the consent of the people. If the ruler does not live up to the trust, people have the right and even the obligation to stop obeying him. In other words, people have the right to revolt.

Locke marked his return to England in 1689 with the publication of another work similar in content to the Treatises, namely the first Letter for Toleration, written mainly in 1685. In it, Locke opposed the traditional view that secular power has the right to instill true faith and true morality. He wrote that force can only force people to pretend, but not to believe. And strengthening morality (in that it does not affect the security of the country and the preservation of peace) is the responsibility of the church, not the state.

I can say without exaggeration that John Locke was the first modern thinker. His way of reasoning differed sharply from the thinking of medieval philosophers. Locke's mind was practical and empiricist. His political philosophy had a significant influence on the leaders of the French Enlightenment.

Locke's scientific works

John Locke K. Marx ranked comprehensively educated people XVII-XVIII centuries See K. Marx and F. Engels, Works, vol. 3, p. 413.. In addition to his main work “An Essay on Human Reason”, which substantiates the materialistic principles of Bacon, Hobbes and Gassendi on the origin of human knowledge and ideas from the world of feelings and dealt a crushing blow to scholasticism and theology, Locke also wrote a number of valuable works on issues of political economy, politics, law, pedagogy, “Two Treatises on Government”, several letters on religious tolerance, “Some considerations on the consequences of the decline interest and the increase in the value of money by the state”, “Thoughts on education” - this is not a complete list of these works.

Just like his philosophical works, these works of Locke were the subject of close attention of the founders of Marxism. In “The German Ideology” K. Marx and F. Engels call Locke “one of the doyens (elders) of modern political economy” K. Marx and F. Engels, Works, vol. 3, p. 527.. Marx also emphasized great value his legal views. Finally, in a review of Guizot’s book, noting the progressive nature of Locke’s defense of the principle of toleration, K. Marx calls him the father of free thought. See K. Marx and F. Engels, Works, vol. 7, p. 220..

Locke philosopher power political

John Locke is an English philosopher, an outstanding thinker of the Enlightenment, a teacher, a theorist of liberalism, a representative of empiricism, a man whose ideas significantly influenced the development of political philosophy, epistemology, and had a certain impact on the formation of the views of Rousseau, Voltaire and other philosophers, American revolutionaries.

Locke was born in western England, near Bristol, in the small town of Wrington on August 29, 1632, in the family of a legal official. Puritan parents raised their son in an atmosphere of strict observance of religious rules. A recommendation from an influential acquaintance of his father helped Locke get into Westminster School in 1646, the most prestigious school in the country at that time, where he was among the most best students. In 1652, John continued his education at Christ Church College, Oxford University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1656, and three years later a master's degree. His talent and diligence were rewarded with an offer to stay in educational institution and teach philosophy, ancient Greek. During these years, his more Aristotelian philosophy became interested in medicine, the study of which he devoted a lot of effort. Nevertheless, he failed to obtain the desired degree of Doctor of Medicine.

John Locke was 34 years old when fate brought him together with a man who greatly influenced his entire life. further biography, - Lord Ashley, later Earl of Shaftesbury. At first, Locke was with him in 1667 as a family physician and teacher of his son, and later served as a secretary, and this encouraged him to enter politics. Shaftesbury provided him with enormous support, introducing him to political and economic circles, giving him the opportunity to take part in government. In 1668, Locke became a member of the Royal Society of London, and the following year he joined its Council. He does not forget about other types of activity: for example, in 1671 he conceived the idea of ​​a work to which he would devote 16 years and which would become the main thing in his philosophical heritage - “An Essay on Human Understanding,” dedicated to the study of human cognitive potential.

In 1672 and 1679, Locke served in the highest government offices in prestigious positions, but at the same time, his advancement in the world of politics was directly dependent on the successes of his patron. Health problems forced J. Locke to spend the period from the end of 1675 to the middle of 1679 in France. In 1683, following the Earl of Shaftesbury and fearing political persecution, he moved to Holland. There he developed a friendly relationship with William of Orange; Locke has a noticeable ideological influence on him and becomes involved in the preparation of a coup, as a result of which William becomes king of England.

Changes allow Locke to return to England in 1689. From 1691, his place of residence became Ots, the Mesham estate, which belonged to his friend, the wife of a member of parliament: he accepted her invitation to settle in country house, because suffered from asthma for many years. During these years, Locke was not only in government service, but also took part in raising Lady Masham’s son, devoted a lot of energy to literature and science, completed “An Essay on Human Understanding,” and prepared for publication previously planned works, including “Two Treatises on Government.” ", "Thoughts on education", "The reasonableness of Christianity." In 1700, Locke decides to resign from all his positions; On October 28, 1704 he died.