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When we last encountered Donovan Creed, former CIA assassin and freelance killer, he had successfully stolen billions of dollars from the world's most lethal criminals. Now all he wants is a romantic Florida vacation with the very sexy Rachel -- no fire ants, bi-polar girlfriends, rabid squirrels, accident prone homicidal maniacs, hailstorms, hairless cats, gangs, faith healers, or pirates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (37)

Now&Then Review 10.21
I uttered a pirate's grizzly "arrrrrrrrgh," as Locke's crime novel never steered us back to "now" at the B&B in Florida after leaving to "then" in the 1700's mysterious secret past.I felt pirated of that gold that is his first person style.What happened to Rachel and Creed?Part one, five stars; part two, one.

John Locke is destined to be one of the great novelists of our time.
Once again, John Locke has left me dumbfounded with his writing prowess.If you want to become immersed in a fast-pasted, breath-taking literary thrill ride with delightful sprinklings of humor, murder, mystery, romance, and mayhem, read every Donovan Creed novel you can afford to buy.

Excellent Read...
This being my first John Locke novel I wasn't sure what to expect, but I must say that I was that I was beyond pleasantly surprised.I fell in love with Donovan, his girlfriend and all of the other characters in this book.It is a unique mix of action, romance and humor.I read it cover to cover in one day, I think that anyone who picks up this book will enjoy it as much as I did.I now count John Locke as one of my new favorite authors and can't wait to read more of his work, especially the Donovan Creed series.

Fantastic Read...
This book will hook you right from the beginning.It is a great mix of action and fantasy.I thought the main character, Donovan, was great.The author does such a good job in making all of the characters come to life, it seems as if you've known them forever.I really enjoyed how well John Locke mixed both the Now and Then parts of the book.They flowed seamlessly and were very easy to follow.

This was my first John Locke book and am looking forward to reading many more from him.I would recommend this book to anyone looking for something to read on a nice fall weekend.You won't be sorry.

The beach sand was hot and we wanted to go for a swim
When you are in trouble, do you want to be saved by the computer guy or the one who kicks butt and leave a trail of blood and broken bones all over the place?Picture this: It's Florida and hot, Donovan is spending time with his girlfriend, but someone has other plans for him; they want him dead.Did I mention hot and with his girlfriend?If you have read about Donovan Creed in any of John Locke's books, then you know what I mean about hot.He is rough around the edges and knows what to say to make himself beautiful to you.This is one guy that is beautiful inside.The scars on the outside are battle scars from his different events.In each book, John Locke lets you know a little more about him and his past.It was a tough one!This is not for the weak and weary but it is a good romance if you like muscle thrown in on the side.The girl, a knockout, beautiful body, great features and face. Can you really have those colored eyes with that hair?Hmm, no wonder people stare at her.Is it beauty and the beast?No, it is just Donovan Creed with his girl on the beach.Now, if they would just leave him alone... ... Read more

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This volume offers two complementary works, unabridged, in modernised, annotated texts - the only available edition priced for classroom use. Grant and Tarcov provide a concise introduction, a note on the texts, and a select bibliography. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An Excellent Translation of Two Critical Works by Locke
This is an excellent edition of two works by John Locke that are necessary to understand his philosophy. Of the Conduct of the Understanding is one of the most important works by Locke, and is often overlooked by Locke scholars. In it, he succinctly explains his worldview that is behind his other writings (esp.The Essay, but also works such as theTwo Treatises, etc.). This is a must read for anyone wanting to understand Locke's philosophy.

Some Thoughts Concerning Education is also an important work to understand what kind of citizen he envisioned should make up civil societies. These are a collection of letters he wrote to a friend about raising children. In it, we can see what kind of training children require to participate in civil society, according to Locke.

Also, by reading both works, the reader can see how Christian ideas are an important foundation of Locke's worldview.

I highly recommend this edition of these works by Locke!

What's At Issue
The question is whether this is an adequate alternative to James Axtell's now out of print and rather expensive if purchased used volume.The answer is yes, it's a Hackett good value, and needs to be available for serious students and scholars.Any good library has Axtell where the introduction can be read or copied.

Educational Basics
Of course John Locke's tabula rasa has been more or less debunked by the cognitive revolution of the 20th century, but this work still remains one of the most important works of political education in all of political philosophy. Locke believes that "the minds of children" are turned as easily as the direction of water. His goal is to direct the minds of children in such a way as to lead England in the modern world. Locke's vision of education is one of obedience and control, which in turn, is followed by trust and release. It is the modern form of parenting. He writes: "The first thing they should learn to know should be that they were not to have anything because it pleased them, but because it was fit for them" (29). Locke's educational philosophy echoes the instructions for living virtuously by Aristotle in his Nichomachean Ethics. The goal is to enable the child to strive as a reasonable creature, although it is the parent that instills this reason, not the individual itself that crafts his own mind and behavior. This is the dominant perspective on education in the west; it is rivaled only by Rousseau and Dewey. ... Read more

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This volume brings together the principal writings on religious toleration and freedom of expression by one of the greatest philosophers in the Anglophone tradition. It contains not only Locke's canonical "Letter Concerning Toleration" (1689), but also his early "Essay Concerning Toleration" (1667), extracts from the "Third Letter for Toleration" (1692), and a large body of Locke's briefer essays and memoranda on these themes. ... Read more

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This is an electronic edition of the complete essays complemented by author biography. This book features the table of contents linked to every chapter. The book was designed for optimal navigation on the Kindle, PDA, Smartphone, and other electronic readers. It is formatted to display on all electronic devices including the Kindle, Smartphones and other Mobile Devices with a small display.

Customer Reviews (1)

Great English philosopher
Works of John Locke: Including Two Treatises of Government, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and more.

This is a very good ebook that covers Locke's key writings. ... Read more

Product Description
John Locke (1632-1704) has been lauded as the most influential English philosopher. This book provides the first detailed account of the influence of John Locke upon the religious thinkers of the eighteenth century, and discusses the implications for Christian apologetics. Locke set out to discover the limits of human understanding, and in the course of his discussion considered such matters as reason, revelation, faith and enthusiasm. His practical interests were strong, and when considering how we ought to live he appealed to the Bible and especially to the teaching and example of Christ. He also paraphrased a number of Paul's epistles, endeavouring to grasp the apostle's message as a whole, setting his face against `proof-texting' attempts to support particular theological systems. Such an author could not fail to have an impact upon the religious writers who came after him. Many responded to Locke, but as Professor Sell shows, the responses were varied: some were enthusiastic, others hostile, many qualified. ... Read more

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John Locke (1632-1704) one of the greatest English philosophers of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, argued in his masterpiece, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, that our knowledge is founded in experience and reaches us principally through our senses; but its message has been curiously misunderstood. In this book John Dunn shows how Locke arrived at his theory of knowledge, and how his exposition of the liberal values of toleration and responsible government formed the backbone of enlightened European thought of the eighteenth century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Short version of masterpiece of Locke scholarship
Admittedly Dunn is not an easy read, but then who said intellectual history was always easy. Dunn is the author of one of the most important and subtle books on Locke, The Political Thought of John Locke. It is also very expensive and much more difficult a read than this introduction. It was part of the great reappraisal of Locke after the Laslett edition and a masterpiece of the Cambridge contextual school of intellectual history perhaps most associated with Quentin Skinner. These texts are difficult because they don't give simplistic usable history; rather, they try to understand what the authors were actually doing in the text. If this is not your cup of tea, then certainly forget this book. If you're interested in profound scholarship on a budget, this just might be the ticket. Fantastic book.

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.
... Read more

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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This book recovers a sense of John Locke's central role in the making of the modern world. It demonstrates that his vision of modern life was constructed on a philosophy of human freedom that is the intellectual nerve connecting the various strands of his thought. By revealing the depth and originality of Locke's critique of the metaphysical assumptions and authoritative institutions of pre-modern life, this book rejects the notion of Locke as an intellectual anachronism. Indeed, the radical core of Locke's modern project was the "democratization of mind," according to which he challenged practically every previous mode of philosophical analysis by making the autonomous individual the sole determinant of truth. It was on the basis of this new philosophical dispensation that Locke crafted a modern vision not only of government but also of the churches, the family, education, and the conduct of international relations., education, and the conduct of international relations. ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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A brief and enlightening exploration of one of our greatest thinkers.Amazon.com Review
In this addition to his popular series of miniature introductions to the great philosophers, Paul Strathern takes on John Locke, one of the first major empiricists. As always, Strathern does an excellent job of putting the philosopher and his work into historical context: Locke in 90 Minutes is particularly strong on showing how the turbulence of English politics during the mid-1600s set Locke on the road to philosophy and shaped his ideas on democracy. He provides clear summaries that demonstrate how Locke's empiricism was informed by the scientific spirit of the times as well as the more metaphysical ruminations of Descartes (though he would veer very sharply from the conclusions of his French near-contemporary). And there are several examples of Strathern's caustic wit, as in his description of Locke's long epistolary relationships with women as "a sort of Chinese water torture by correspondence." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Poor, Nasty, Brutish and Short
Author Strathern went too much for humor and sarcasm and left us with a short but unhelpful tome.Of the 59 pages of commentary, the first 20 or so were brutal to ge through, as Strathern focuses too much on trying to be funny and sarcastic and too little on teaching us about Locke's life and thinking.The latter part of the book does this, but it is too superficial and assumes too much prior knowledge from the reader.It is hard enough to keep track of who sat on the British throne let alone how Locke's ideas were influenced by those who preceded him and how he influenced those who followed; it is particularly in the latter where Strathern fails.I would not even recommend this as an introduction to Locke, unless one is interested in some of the more personal aspects of his life.

A waste of time and money...
Paul Strathern is confused.He thinks we buy his books because he is witty and irreverent.In fact, we buy them because we are misled by their titles, which seem to promise thoughtful introductions to interesting philosophers.As a result, Strathern and his readers are at cross-purposes, and neither gets what they really want.Strathern does not get an adoring audience that delights in his antics, because we do not care about him, and we did not come to laugh at Locke.We came to understand him, but we do not get a proper introduction, because Strathern is so busy displaying himself for our admiration that he hardly tells us what Locke actually said and did, only what he thinks of Locke.Strathern finds Locke boring, for example, but why does he think we should care?Does he think his boredom is an ironic mark of intellectual distinction that especially qualifies him to throw rocks at one of history's greatest thinkers?No, he is only making a bad joke and begging for our applause.In other words, Strathern is pathetic.He reminds me of the minor functionary who was asked to introduce a famous speaker, but who refused to leave the stage when he discovered that he loved to be the center of attention.And so he prattled on and on, abusing the embarrassed audience with his unwelcome opinions, while people shifted uncomfortably in their seats, hoping he would just shut up and let the real presentation begin. Someone should tell Strathern to just shut up and let the real presentation begin.Until they do, thoughtful readers must look elsewhere for an intelligent introduction to Locke (and to the many other topics Strathern has so effectively hidden behind himself).Fortunately, there are many fine authors who are not only better qualified to write about philosophy, but whose books actually deliver on their promise.I suggest you read one of them instead.

Abeneficient philosopher
Strathern tells in his usual humorous and fast- paced way the life of Locke, and provides his own take on Locke's thought. For Strathern Locke is one of the political thinkers who has done the most good. There is much to be said for this view as the emphasis in Locke on individual rights, on tolerance, on liberty are a major influence on the US Declaration of Independance and Constitution.
Locke also has a decisive influence on the philosophical tradition and turns it away from Aristotlian scholaticism toward learning through experience. In his great work an 'Essay on Human Understanding' Locke analyzes the way we come to know the world. He suggests quite in contradiction to what is believed today, that the mind is a tabula rasa a blank slate at the outset of life upon which experience freely writes. We today have more a sense of the inherent structures of the mind, linguistically and cognitively.
Locke's analysis of the 'impressions and ideas' we have in terms of our apprehension of the primary and secondary qualities of objects is based according to Strathern on the difference between the measurable and non- measurable qualities, and is thus related to the rise of scientific investigation during Locke's lifetime.
From Locke would of course follow Berkeley and after this the true demolition job of Hume. From the imperfect knowledge of the world through experience in Locke there would come in Hume a questioning of our ability to confidently know anything at all.
Locke is not one of the most brilliant of the great philosophers, but nonetheless one of the most influential.
Strathern does an excellent job of telling us how this is so.

why bother?
I found this book to be essentially useless.It presented a brief, boring biography of Locke with little attention to his world altering theories.Waste of time.

Strathern could have done better.
I think Paul Strathern is brilliant. He must have looked at the way the "...for Dummies" series has a standard format and done something similar. I was more impressed with his treatment of Confucius. In both this book on Locke and the one on Confucius he gives us 50 pp. of content in two sections: "Subject's Life and Works" and "Afterword".But in the book on Locke, Strathern spent too many words poking fun at Locke and calling him boring. He also spent much more effort in describing the life and times of Locke than his philosophy.I think Strathern must find Locke too boring to spend much time discussing his contributions. "From Socrates to Sarte: the Philosophic Quest" by T.Z.Lavine gives four chapters to Hume and a handful of pages to Locke. "The Story of Philosophy" by Will Durant doesn't give a full chapter to either Hume or Locke, merely including them within the context of philosophers whom Durant considers greater. So at least Strathern has given more individual focus to Locke than other writers popularizing philosophy. Strathern also, as part of his format in this 90 Minutes series, gives representative quotes from Locke's work. This is a very nice touch and I recommend the book for this reason. You can see that reading Locke is like reading the King James version of the Bible: "Huh? What did he say?" This is a decent book, but I did feel a bit let down while reading it, which is why I give it 3 instead of 4 stars. Also, the other reviewer made comments saying that Locke's philosophy of government depends on the inate goodness of people. That is only that reviewer's opinion. That did not come across at all in this presentation of Locke's work. ... Read more

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John Locke's untitled manuscript "Questions concerning the Law of Nature" (1664) was his only work focused on the subject of natural law, a circumstance that is especially surprising since his published writings touch on the subject frequently, if inconclusively. Containing a substantial apparatus criticus, this new edition of Locke's manuscript is faithful to Locke's original intentions. ... Read more

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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

Customer Reviews (1)

Invaluable
This readable companion contains essays on Locke as a thinker and specifically on Locke's Essay.

The first essay looks at Locke's intellectual development and those who influenced him. The second essay puts Locke's tabula rasa in context. The third essay deals with Locke's concept of "ideas."

Overall, most of the essays in this volume are insightful and provide invaluable aid to understanding Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding.

Highly recommended!

... Read more

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The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
Delve into what it was like to live during the eighteenth century by reading the first-hand accounts of everyday people, including city dwellers and farmers, businessmen and bankers, artisans and merchants, artists and their patrons, politicians and their constituents. Original texts make the American, French, and Industrial revolutions vividly contemporary.
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The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
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John Rylands University Library of Manchester

T155049

First published as 'Epistola de toleratia'.

Huddersfield : printed for the editor, by J. Brooke, 1796. [2],70p. ; 12° ... Read more

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This is the first major critical edition of Locke's 1695 enquiry into the foundations of Christianity. Locke maintains that the essentials of the faith, few and simple, can be found by anyone for themselves in the Scripture, and that this provides a basis for tolerant agreement among Christians. An authoritative text is accompanied by abundant information conducive to an understanding of Locke's religious thought. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Historical defense of Theism during the deist controversy
(I am reposting this review, because the email address was wrong and it did not show up on my review page.)

The puritan physician John Locke (1632-1704) is one of the greatest philosophers, and certainly the one who was the most influential on the American civilization. Locke's life and thecontext in which he wrote this book are presented in Ewing's introduction,however without serious philosophical considerations. Ewing still mentionsLocke's willingness to defend Christianity against the intellectual attackslead by the deists, and how much opposition Locke's The Reasonableness ofChristianity received, in particular from the revivalist clergyman JonathanEdwards, who accused him of atheism. Since Locke's book did not have anydivisions nor chapters, Ewing has numbered the paragraphes and compiled anoutline.

Locke first deals with the need for salvation and the contentof the gospel preached by the apostles and Jesus. He then proceeds to avery lengthy analysis of the gospels (as someone said: "Locke has nomercy on the patience of his readers.") Locke defends the Christiantruth with the miracles and the resurrection of Jesus, His indirectdeclarations of Messiahship and His fulfilment of the messianic prophecies.I was surprised to learn much from Locke's sharp analysis of the gospels,for example why Jesus did not reveal His identity directly during most ofHis ministry. Locke then answers some general objections (about thesalvation of the unevangelized, etc.) In the last part of the book Lockepoints at some insufficiencies in the general divine revelation in nature(although Locke believed in the truth of such a revelation) and argues forthe necessity of special revelation.

Locke's arguments may have beenconvincing in his time. But Locke wrote before the attacks of Hume againstmiracles or before the attacks of the liberal theologians based on thehistorical-critical method. Locke's argumentation would be incomplete formodern readers. These would be more helped by modern apologetics books.However, those interested in an analysis of Jesus' ministry may benefitfrom Locke's book, provided they are motivated enough to endure his lengthystyle. Those interested in Locke's philosophy may benefit more from theedition by I. T. Ramsey (John Locke. The Reasonableness of Christianity.With a Discourse on Miracles and Part of A Third Letter ConcerningToleration. Introduced and edited by I. T. Ramsey. Stanford: StanfordUniversity Press, 1958.) Ramsey has brilliantly introduced and outlined thebook, has abridged the text, and also introduced and edited some of Locke'sarguments about miracles.

Historical defense of Theism during the deist controversy
The puritan physician John Locke (1632-1704) is one of the greatest philosophers, and certainly the one who was the most influential on the American civilization. Locke's life and the context in which he wrote this book are presented in Ewing's introduction, however without serious philosophical considerations. Ewing still mentions Locke's willingness to defend Christianity against the intellectual attacks lead by the deists, and how much opposition Locke's The Reasonableness of Christianity received, in particularfrom the revivalist clergyman Jonathan Edwards, who accused him of atheism. Since Locke's book did not have any divisions nor chapters, Ewing has numbered the paragraphes and compiled an outline.

Locke first deals with the need for salvation and the content of the gospel preached by the apostles and Jesus. He then proceeds to a very lengthy analysis of the gospels (as someone said: "Locke has no mercy on the patience of his readers.") Locke defends the Christian truth with the miracles and the resurrection of Jesus, His indirect declarations of Messiahship and His fulfilment of the messianic prophecies. I was surprised to learn much from Locke's sharp analysis of the gospels, for example why Jesus did not reveal His identity directly during most of His ministry. Locke then answers some general objections (about the salvation of the unevangelized, etc.) In the last part of the book Locke points at some insufficiencies in the general divine revelation in nature (although Locke believed in the truth of such a revelation) and argues for the necessity of special revelation.

Locke's arguments may have been convincing in his time. But Locke wrote before the attacks of Hume against miracles or before the attacks of the liberal theologians based on the historical-critical method. Locke's argumentation would be incomplete for modern readers. These would be more helped by modern apologetics books. However, those interested in an analysis of Jesus' ministry may benefit from Locke's book, provided they are motivated enough to endure his lengthy style. Those interested in Locke's philosophy may benefit more from the edition by I. T. Ramsey (John Locke. The Reasonableness of Christianity. With a Discourse on Miracles and Part of A Third Letter Concerning Toleration. Introduced and edited by I. T. Ramsey. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1958.) Ramsey has brilliantly introduced and outlined the book, has abridged the text, and also introduced and edited some of Locke's arguments about miracles. ... Read more

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John Locke's Moral Revolution critiques two traditional approaches to John Locke's philosophy. The first approach interprets John Locke as committed to justifying his early his early Christian / Aristotelian views of the law of nature. The second approach sees Locke attempting to manage a cluster of inconsistent moral views. In this new work, author Samuel Zinaich, Jr. argues that Locke attempts to establish a solid underpinning for religious, moral, and political ideas upon the philosophy of corpuscularism. ... Read more

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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

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John Locke (1632-1704) argued in his masterpiece, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding , that our knowledge is founded on experience and reaches us principally through our senses; but its message has been curiously misunderstood. In this book John Dunn shows how Locke arrived at his theory of knowledge, and how his exposition of the liberal values of toleration and responsible government formed the backjbone of enlightened European thought of the eighteenth century. `Lucid and lively...offers rich insight into the triumphs and tragedy of the source of British ideology.' New Society This book is intended for a-level and degree students of philosophy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent introduction to the work
This is an excellent introduction to the work of Locke, but is deficient in its telling of Locke's life story. It does trace the story of his public life and career. It tells of his long preparation in politics his work for Shaftesbury, his many friendships with political figures and thinkers not only from Britain but from Holland and France; it tells of the four years of political exile in which he wrote his masterpiece " An Essay on Human Understanding" tells of the fame this book brought him, and his public career afterwards- but it tells almost nothing of his emotional and intimate life. This may not be the main thing, but as Ben- Ami Scharfstein has shown in his work on thelives of the great Philosophers- understandingthe life may provide key insights into the work. Locke never married but he did have one significant long- term relationship with the woman who was his best friend intellectual companion and confidante, Damaris Cudworth, later Lady Masham.
Dunn ably explores Locke's championing of the value of religious tolerance( for dissenting sects of Protestants but not for Catholics) his pioneering efforts at basing human understanding on knowledge given by the senses. He shows how for Locke
" knowledge itself is a form of perception" He shows where Locke contradicted the teachings of the one from whom he had learned so much Descartes, especially on the matter of innate knowledge. For Locke the mind is a ' tabula rasa' at the beginning, and all we know we know through our experience. Knowledge which is the perception ' of the connexion and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy of any of our ideas" is for Locke always " particular ideas existing in our own minds".
Locke's insistence on verbal clarity, his insistence on the role the senses play in " furnishing men with the knowledge of nature , " are still Dunn claims valuable today. Dunn too shows where Locke is more pessimistic about our power of understanding especially in regard to the way the power of custom,the ' elaborate process through which men form, modify and protect their beliefs"and the " unedifying character of most worldly desires" lead to distortion in perception and thought.
Nonetheless Locke stands as the great forerunner in major changes in the human perception of the individual's power to know and right to believe. He is the pioneer of those ideas which would be embodied in the American Declaration of Independance and Constitution. It is possible toargue that he is one of the few of the great philosophers whose work can be said to have done some real good in the world.
This is a very clearly written study and a highly valuable introduction to his thought. ... Read more

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John Locke was an English philosopher who is regarded as the "father of liberalism." His thinking had a profound influence on political philosophy; in fact, the founding fathers who drafted the Constitution of the United States based a portion of its content upon Locke's tenets. However, it can be argued that these Lockean concepts are ill-adapted to realities of the modern world, and as such are the root cause of dysfunction in our body politic today—and are hampering the Obama administration's attempts to effect change.

This book traces the evolution of liberalism as a political philosophy in England and the United States from the 18th century to today. The author presents a series of historical and contemporary studies that illustrate how John Locke's political philosophy of antisocial individualism continues to affect modern American culture. Additionally, this book attempts to address why American "conservatives" are actually liberal, how American "liberals" can also be deemed liberal, to provide direction in getting American politics moving again, and restore the American dream for ourselves and our children.

Customer Reviews (2)

Typical Bleeding Heart Liberal
I can think of no one who has so relentlessly sought to lay the blame for nearly all of America's social, political, economic, legal, and educational ills at the feet of John Locke than does Nevins in this text.Indeed, the argument of this manuscript strains credulity nearly to the breaking point as it pursues its single-minded effort to lodge all of America's present dilemmas on its acceptance of Lockean liberalism.From failing schools, to inequalities in health care, to infrastructural decay, gun violence, and anti-intellectualism: it is hard to imagine any thinker who has been held accountable for so much as is this 17th century thinker in this manuscript.

Timely, insightful work.
This book is a must read for anyone interested in politics or philosophy. The timing of this book is perfect given the screaming, frantic, raving background of the Tea Party and the "success" of the politicians it has backed - from Christine O'Donnell to the Nazi-imitating Rich Iott. I really enjoyed how Nevins framed the philosophy and history which continues to dominate American politics in an accessible and provoking manner.

For anyone who is frustrated with the the American political system - whether you are a progressive shaking your head once again at how Democrats are managing to once again shoot themselves in the foot, or whether you are a conservative who feels that the Republican party has surrendered to the reactionary right-wing movement - you will thoroughly enjoy Nevins' thoughts on the state of American politics. ... Read more