John Locke was an English philosopher. He was widely considered one of the most influential thinkers from the 18th century Enlightenment stage. Locke was commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism". Locke was born on 29 August 1632 in a small cottage in Wrington, Somerset. This place was close to Bristol. Both of Locke's parents were Puritans in their ideology and thinking. Locke's father, also known as John, was an attorney, having served as a clerk to Justices of the Peace in Chew Magna.
Locke was considered one of the first British empiricists. This was followed after the legacy of Sir Francis Bacon. Locke is quite crucial for the social contract theory. His work influenced the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings also influenced Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and the American Revolutionaries.
Locke's theory of mind is cited as being the origin of modern conceptions of identity and self. Locke was the first to define the self through a continuity of consciousness. He also gave the famous term, called "blank slate" or "tabula rasa". This meant that the human mind was an empty slate as the human was born. Throughout the journey of life, it got filled with experiences.
Locke completely maintained that we are born without innate or intrinsic ideas and that knowledge was instead determined by experience. Locke is quite crucial to English literature and studies concerning Sociology and Political Science. He's a part of the official curriculum of English studies across universities around the world. Locke was a firm believer in empiricism. His legacy is still alive and fresh. He died on 28 October 1704. Below are some of the famous John Locke Quotes.
What worries you, masters, you.
Something that keeps on coming to your mind again and again and worries you will drive your mind. It's something that will help you question the ideas and issues you are struggling with in life. Also, if you worry about something, you will strive to look for its solutions. Or perhaps that will mostly occupy your mind.
I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.
You need not listen to people to know what they feel about a particular thing. The best way is to look for their actions. If you notice in detail what they do and how they do, you will be able to interpret their thoughts nicely. So the best way to know what's going on in someone's mind or heart is to notice their actions.
Government has no other end, but the preservation of property.
Government is there to preserve property, both public as well as private. It tries to have some control over all kinds of property. That's also because there's no other way for the government to make money. Thus, the property becomes an important way to gain taxes and run the state.
Every man has a property in his person. This nobody has a right to, but himself.
Property isn't just physical property like land, goods or cows. The real property of a person is his self. This is that kind of intangible property that no one can have a right on. Thus, Locke is criticising the idea of physical property over here. He's rather reinforcing the concept that one's body is their property.
The reason why men enter into society is the preservation of their property.
Men having to enter the web of social relations is more particularly about their aim of having control over the property. Men are otherwise quite away from the realm of society. However, when it comes to property, they become more interested because of the power and money that property brings.
Continue reading some more John Locke Quotes....
No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience.
Experience is truly the biggest of all things. It cannot surpass the bookish knowledge that you have. It's something that cannot take the place of anything. Knowledge in itself is not enough. That has to be complemented with a good amount of experience. Or rather, it would be perfect to say that experience is supreme of all knowledge.
The improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others.
Learning and unlearning is all a part of our understanding. Nothing is perfect, and thus, we must always engage ourselves in the process of understanding our flaws and rectifying them. This understanding is not just crucial for ourselves but also for imparting it to others.
All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.
No one is entitled to do or cause any harm to anyone else. We can be unequal in terms of our education or wealth. However, in terms of basic humanity and love, we all need to be nice to each other. We mustn't cause any harm to the wealth, liberty or happiness of others.
Fortitude is the guard and support of the other virtues.
What is fortitude? It's the courage that one keeps in all adversities and pains. Hence, it's so basic to the idea of self-love and self-growth. Fortitude is the security guard, in that sense, of all other virtues. If you manage to stay strong and calm even in the face of problems, you are likely to pass in every other life exam.
All wealth is the product of labour
We often tend to take things at their face value. For say, if there's a building or any expensive property, we don't consider the labour that goes into making it. Similarly, all the wealth that capitalists enjoy is the result of labour. Thus, Locke says that physical labour is crucial to any economic system.
Some more John Locke Quotes...
New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not common.
What happens when a new invention or novel idea comes into the market? It's met with a lot of apprehension and anxiety. It's not welcomed out of the inevitable doubt that we all have in experimenting with new things. They are mostly suspected because they are uncommon. Yet this suspicion is only going to be fruitful as it would make way for newer opinions.
The only defence against the world is a thorough knowledge of it.
How do you defend yourself when the whole world and its people go against you? Well, only a thorough knowledge of it will help you raise a defence in your own body. You will have to know about all the powers, weaknesses, strengths and other intricate details of the people and the world. That way, you will be able to hit the right mark to defend yourself.
Parents wonder why the streams are bitter when they poison the fountain.
Parents have a big hand in raising their children. Children can't be raised in isolation. They have to engage with the world and its ways constantly. If parents raise their children crassly, rudely, and in a distasteful fashion, then there's no use. Children raised like this would be themselves rude. Thus, if the parents are spoiling the fountain of upbringing, they are ultimately spoiling the streams, that is, their children.
Revolt is the right of the people
Raising a revolt against the tyranny of the supreme or any person of power is everyone's right. Revolutions and revolts occur because they are done with a common sentiment of toppling down repressive structures of power. Thus, if and when the common people feel that they are being tortured, they are free to raise a revolt.
There is frequently more to be learned from the unexpected questions of a child than the discourses of men.
Children are very innocent and pure in whatever they ask. They don't mince words at all and are brutally honest about everything. You can't believe how much power the imagination of a small child holds. It's absolutely beautiful to see how the questions they raise can form the foundation of some poignant debates. Thus, there's more to learn from the sudden questions of a child than the discourses of a man.
Few more John Locke Quotes....
Reverie is when ideas float in our mind without reflection or regard of the understanding
Reverie is that state of our mind when ideas flow in a stream of consciousness. This means that there's no particular order in which the ideas express themselves. It's that state of being when our mind lays down ideas on a canvas just simply. There's no chronology in which our thoughts shape themselves.
Few men think, yet all will have opinions. Hence men's opinions are superficial and confused.
Thinking and having an opinion are two different things. Thinking is a more serious mental exercise and cannot be done randomly. The brain has to do it nicely and in a comprehensive framework. Yet if you don't think, you all are going to have some opinion at least. Thus, men's opinions are only superficial and confused as if they don't think; they would also be confused and uninformed opinions.
Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him.
Education is just the starting of the formation of a gentleman. It only lays down the foundation stone of their formation. Yet what builds them is reading, good company and reflection. One should use these three processes in building themselves. If you read and engage in good company, you will automatically see your growth bar rise.
We are like chameleons, we take our hue and the colour of our moral character, from those who are around us.
Human beings are true chameleons in the sense that they always wear the veil of morality. We are ourselves so deceitful that we take the help of pretence to look pleasing in front of others. However, that's just a false masquerade that we humans wear.
To love truth for truth's sake is the principal part of human perfection in this world and the seed-plot of all other virtues.
You should love the absolute truth, not because you are forced to. Rather you should love truth because it exists so. Truth is sometimes very hard to find peace with. Thus, if you successfully accept truth in its entirety, you have the ultimate seed of human perfection. This seed will then give way to human virtues that will help you nurture yourself all the more.
