John Locke

John Locke was born on August 29,1632. He became widely known as the Father
of Liberalism because he was an English philosopher and physician. He was regarded
as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Locke's work had a great
impact upon the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings
influenced Voltaire and Rousseau,and many American revolutionaries.

In 1647, Locke was sent to the prestigious Westminster School in London. After
completing his studies there, he stayed at Christ Church, Oxford. Locke was irritated by
the undergraduate curriculum of the time. He found the works of modern philosophers,
such as René Descartes, more interesting than the classical material taught at the
university. Locke was introduced to medicine and the experimental philosophy

Locke continued his medical studies under the tutelage of Thomas Sydnham.
Sydenham had a major effect on Locke's natural philosophical thinking. This effect had
an influence over his writing: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.

In 1672, Locke became involved in politics when Shaftesbury became Lord

Chancellor. Following Shaftesbury's fall from favour in 1675, Locke spent some time
traveling across France. Around this time, most likely at Shaftesbury's prompting,
Locke composed the bulk of the Two Treatises of Government. While it was once
thought that Locke wrote the Treatises to defend the Glorious Revolution of 1688, recent
scholarship has shown that the work was composed well before this date, however, and
it is now viewed as a more general argument against Absolute monarchy and for
individual consent as the basis of political legitimacy. Though Locke was associated
with the influential Whigs, his ideas about natural rights and government are today
considered quite revolutionary for that period in English history.

Locke fled to the Netherlands in 1683, under strong suspicion of involvement in

the Rye House Plot, or the plan of assassinating King Charles II and his brother James
II, although there is little evidence to suggest that he was directly involved in the
scheme. In the Netherlands, Locke had time to return to his writing, spending a great
deal of time re-working the Essay and composing the Letter on Toleration. Locke did not
return home until after the Glorious Revolution. Locke accompanied William of
Orange's wife back to England in 1688. When Locke came back to England, he
published a lot of his writings before he died on October 28, 1704. His writings
included: Essay Concerning Human Understanding, the Two Treatises of Civil
Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration