Book Description
First published in 1689, John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding is widely recognised as among the greatest works in the history of Western philosophy. The Essay puts forward a systematic empiricist theory of mind, detailing how all ideas and knowledge arise from sense experience. Locke was trained in mechanical philosophy and he crafted his account to be consistent with the best natural science of his day. The Essay was highly influential and its rendering of empiricism would become the standard for subsequent theorists. This Companion volume includes fifteen new essays from leading scholars. Covering the major themes of Locke's work, they explain his views while situating the ideas in the historical context of Locke's day and often clarifying their relationship to ongoing work in philosophy. Pitched to advanced undergraduates and graduate students, it is ideal for use in courses on early modern philosophy, British empiricism and John Locke. ... Read more

Book Description
Jeremy Waldron, one of the leading political philosophers of our time, looks at the principle of equality in the thought of John Locke, and the extent to which this is grounded in Christian principles. Throughout the text, Waldron discusses contemporary approaches to equality and rival interpretations of Locke, making his book unusually accessible and intellectually exciting. It will be of interest to philosophers, political theorists, lawyers and theologians around the world.Jeremy Waldron is the Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor at Columbia Law School and Director of Columbia's Center for Law and Philosophy. Waldron has taught and lectured at UC Berkeley, Princeton University, Edinburgh University, Oxford University and Cambridge University. His books include The Dignity of Legislation (Cambridge, 1999), The Right to Private Property (Oxford, 1988) and The Law (Routledge, 1990). Waldron contributes to the London Review of Books and the New York Times Book Review. ... Read more

Book Description
Two Treatises of Government is a influential work of political philosophy originally published in 1689 by English philosopher John Locke. This treatise is an attack on patriarchalismand is a sentence-by-sentence refutation of Patriarcha by Robert Filmer. The second treatise outlines the theory of having a civil society which is based on both natural rights and contract theory. Two Treatises of Government is highly recommended for those who enjoy the writings of John Locke, and also for those who are students and scholars of political science who have not yet had the opportunity to read this key political work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not the key to Locke
Locke was a hugely important thinker, and his work was very influential, in fact dominant, in the early stage of the Enlightenment.He was a particularly strong influence on Voltaire and Rousseau, and his arguments on individual liberty were later to guide the American Founding Fathers.It is difficult to overrate his importance as one of the founders of modern philosophy.It is even more difficult to gain any insight into this from reading Dunn's book.

The problem is that Dunn cannot write.He may well have a thorough understanding of Locke's work, but he is not letting on.This does not matter so much in the early part of the book, which deals with Locke's biography, but in the latter part, dealing with the philosophy, Locke's thought is rendered entirely opaque by Dunn's prose.It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what is at fault.The structure and meaning of individual sentences are sound enough, but they are assembled into paragraphs that don't actually tell us much.For example, we learn that Locke's proof of the existence of God would not impress many modern readers, but we are not told what that proof is.The blurb on the cover tells us that Locke's message has been 'curiously misunderstood', but the book itself does not explain how or why.

After forcing my way through this book, I spent an hour or so on the Internet and learned far more about the subject.I recommend you do the same.
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Book Description
This rich collection will introduce students of philosophy and politics to the contemporary critical literature on the classical social contract political thinkers Thomas Hobbes (1599-1697),John Locke (1632-1704),and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). A dozen essays and book excerpts have been selected to guide students through the texts and to introduce them to current scholarly controversies surrounding the contractarian political theories of these three thinkers. Visit our website for sample chapters! ... Read more

Book Description
One particular feature of Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding - the suggestion that God could add to matter the power of thought - stimulated an extensive debate in Britain between immaterialists (those who defended two substances, mind and matter) and materialists (those who considered matter to be self-active).That debate was also transmitted to the Continent, especially to France, where Locke's suggestion about thinking matter was given prominence by Voltaire.His defence of the suggestion was in turn attacked by a number of writers, thereby implicating Locke in the growth of materialism in France.By the middle of the eighteenth century, Locke's `famous hypothesis' had become the centre of many attacks, mainly by followers of Malebranche.This book tells for the first time the long and complex story of the involvement of Locke's suggestion in the growth of French materialism.There is a discussion of the `affaire de Prades', in which Locke's name was linked with a censored thesis at the Faculty of Theology in Paris. The similarities and differences between English `thinking matter' and the French `matiere pensante' of the philosophes are discussed in the last chapter. ... Read more

Book Description
This is the standard edition of John Locke's classic work of the early 1660s, Essays on the Law of Nature.Also included are selected shorter philosophical writings from the same decade. In his 1664 valedictory speech as Censor of Moral Philosophy at Christ Church, Oxford, Locke discusses the question: Can anyone by nature be happy in this life? The volume is completed by selections from Locke's manuscript journals, unpublished elsewhere: on translating Nicole's Essais de Morale; on spelling; on extension; on idolatry; on pleasure and pain; and on faith and reason. The great Locke scholar W. von Leyden introduces each of these works, setting them in their historical context. This volume is an invaluable source for Locke's early thought, of interest to philosophers, political theorists, jurists, theologians, and historians. ... Read more

Book Description
Written specifically for those coming to the work of Locke for the first time, The Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Locke On Government is an invaluable guide to his political thought. Much of what has been written on the Second Treatise of Government has taken a history of ideas approach.This book is unique in looking at the philosophical aspects of Locke's political work.

Paying particular attention to Locke's radical position and his advocacy of violent revolution against the tyranny of Charles II and James II, D.A. Lloyd shows how political authority can be based on consent.

Written concisely and clearly like the other Routledge Philosophical Guidebooks, this book is an excellent introduction for the general reader and student of Locke.This critical book is an ideal introduction to one of the most important figures of political thought.Download Description
Locke on Government is an essential companion for any student of his Second Treatise on Government, one of the most influential political statements of its time and the foundation of liberal political thought. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Explanatory and Indepth work on "The Second Treatise"
Routledge Guide book has taken efforts to concisely introduce its readers to works of John Locke. The text is intelligible to beginners and is an easy read.

The Second Treatise details the state of nature; the development of society; the contract between the government and its people and the right to rebellion.The issue of rebellion has considerable interests especially to the residents of California with the event of the recall of the Governor Gray Davis. According to Locke if the government fails to enforce the law of nature; fails to further the common good of people; loses trust of people; and fails to act within the bounds of the law the people have the right to rebel. If the above conditions were met then the recall of the governor was a justifiable action by the people.

The Second Treatise has immense relevance to all democratic state as it has been stated by political scholars that it was one of the first all encompassing profound document; advocating for democracy.

This was an easy to understand read and the authors have done great justice to the works of John Locke. I highly encourage readers with an interest in John Locke to give this a chance.

Simple Philosophy
Great for people of all ages who are interested in philosophy, especially those interested in debate. ... Read more

Book Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1801 edition by J. Johnson; etc., London. ... Read more

Book Description
Caffentzis grounds this examination of Locke’s philosophy of economics, language, and history in the political crisis that resulted when monetary pirates “clipped” the silver currency of 17th-century England. His interventionist treatment undoes virtually all standard critical works on Locke. ... Read more

Book Description
Part of the “Longman Library of Primary Sources in Philosophy,” this edition of Locke's Two Treatises of Government is framed by a pedagogical structure designed to make this important work of philosophy more accessible and meaningful for readers. A General Introduction includes biographical information on Locke, the work's historical context, and a discussion of historical influences. Annotations and notes from the editor clarify difficult passages for greater understanding. A bibliography gives the reader additional resources for further study. ... Read more

Book Description
John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding is among the most important books in philosophy ever written.It is a difficult work dealing with many themes, including the origin of ideas; the extent and limits of human knowledge; the philosophy of perception; and religion and morality.This volume focuses on the last two topics and provides a clear and insightful survey of these overlooked aspects of Locke's best-known work.Four eminent Locke scholars present authoritative discussions of Locke's view on the ethics of belief, personal identity, free will and moral theory. ... Read more

Book Description
Convinced that rights are inalienable and that legitimate government requires the consent of the governed, the Fathers of Confederation - whether liberal or conservative - looked to the European enlightenment and John Locke. Janet Ajzenstat analyzes the legislative debates in the colonial parliaments and the Constitution Act (1867) in a provocative reinterpretation of Canadian political history from 1864 to 1873. Ajzenstat contends that the debt to Locke is most evident in the debates on the making of Canada's Parliament: though the anti-confederates maintained that the existing provincial parliaments offered superior protection for individual rights, the confederates insisted that the union's general legislature, the Parliament of Canada, would prove equal to the task and that the promise of "life and liberty" would bring the scattered populations of British North America together as a free nation. ... Read more

Book Description
This collection considers one of the most important figures ofthe modern canon of political philosophy, John Locke. A physician bytraining and profession, Locke not only wrote one of the most important andwell-known treatises of the modern canon, but also made importantcontributions in the areas of seventeenth-century law and public policy,epistemology, philosophy of language, religion, and economics.

There has been a long-standing debate in feminist scholarship on Locke asto whether this early founder of modern liberal thought was a strongfeminist or whether he ushered in a new, and uniquely modern, form ofsexism. The essays grapple with this controversy but also move beyond it tothe meaning of gender, the status of femininity and masculinity, and howthese affect Locke's construction of the state and law.

The volume opens with three of the early "classic" feminist essays on Lockeand follows them with reflective essays by their original authors thatengage Locke with issues of globalization and international justice. Otheressays examine Locke's midwifery notes, his treatise on education, hiswritings on Christianity, his contributions to poor-law policy, hiseconomic writings, and his Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Inaddition to essays by leading feminist theorists, the volume also includesessays by some leading Locke scholars for whom gender is not normally aprimary focus, so that the volume should speak to a wide range of scholarlyinterests and concerns. ... Read more

Book Description
This book discusses some of those ethical and political questions that puzzled several of the great minds of the twentieth century, such as Leo Strauss, Eric Voegelin, Jacques Maritain, and John Finnis: the question of natural law and its relationship to a teaching of individual freedom and rights.

The main aim of the book is to interpret anew the relationship between law and rights in Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, two important founders of modern rights doctrines. But in order to put their teachings into the right perspective, Syse also portrays and discusses other models of law and rights, from Aristotle, through Thomas Aquinas, to John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham, with detours to the teachings of Plato, Cicero, and Augustine. Throughout the discussion, the role of religion and revelation is given center stage as a complex, yet fascinating picture of the relationship between natural law, religion, and rights emerges - one which is neither as simple nor as complicated as often imagined.

Natural Law, Religion, and Rights should be of interest both to students struggling with the meaning and contents of the natural law tradition, as well as to teachers and researchers working on the many-faceted problems of natural law and natural rights. ... Read more

Book Description
J. R. and Philip Milton present the first critical edition of John Locke's Essay concerning Toleration and a number of other writings on law and politics composed between 1667 and 1683. Although Locke never published any of these works himself they are of very great interest for students of his intellectual development because they are markedly different from the early works he wrote while at Oxford and show him working out ideas that were to appear in his mature political writings, the Two Treatises of Government and the Epistola de Tolerantia. The Essay concerning Toleration was written in 1667, shortly after Locke had taken up residence in the household of his patron Lord Ashley, subsequently Earl of Shaftesbury. It has been in print since the nineteenth century, but this volume contains the first critical edition based on all the extant manuscripts; it also contains a detailed account of Locke's arguments and of the contemporary debates on comprehension and toleration. Also included are a number of shorter writings on church and state, including a short set of queries on Scottish church government (1668), Locke's notes on Samuel Parker (1669), and 'Excommunication' (1674). The other two main works contained in this volume are rather different in character . One is a short tract on jury selection which was written at the time of Shaftesbury's imprisonment in 1681. The other is 'A Letter from a Person of Quality', a political pamphlet written by or for Shaftesbury in 1675 as part of his campaign against the Earl of Danby. This was published anonymously and is of disputed authorship; it was first attributed to Locke in 1720 and since then has occupied an uncertain position in the Locke canon. This volume contains the first critical edition based on contemporary printed editions and manuscripts and it includes a detailed account of the Letter's composition, authorship, and subsequent history. This volume will be an invaluable resource for all historians of early modern philosophy, of legal, political, and religious thought, and of 17th century Britain. ... Read more