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Questions tagged [locke]

John Locke is a 17th century English philosopher. Locke had a profound influence in the realm of political philosophies.

John Locke was a 17th century English philosopher. He is one of the first empiricists drawing a distinction between primary and secondary qualities. Locke also had a profound influence in the realm of political philosophy.

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What is the Difference Between Human Rights and Natural Rights?

When people discuss the human rights and natural rights, there seems to be a distinction between the two, where standard interpretations of human rights (such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) are broader and incorporate rights, such as…
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Was Locke right that analytic knowledge is vacuous?

According to Locke, it is impossible to obtain substantive knowledge from analytic propositions. Statements like "triangle has three sides" are analytic, but one cannot derive the Pythagorean Theorem analytically. However, Frege says that…
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What consequences has Locke's theory of knowledge had on modern political thought?

According to John Locke's notion of tabula rasa, there are no innate ideas in the mind. All human knowledge comes from sensible experience. Assuming this principle, it follows that there is no innate moral sense, either. The notions of right vs.…
Otavio Macedo
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What is the contrast between Hume's and Locke's philosophies of science?

I'm writing an essay on Hume and was hoping to contrast his empiricism to Locke's in it. I have come across a commentary, which doesn't go into great depth; could someone explain it in a little greater detail to me? "Hume's method proceeds from…
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Locke's psychology : reference request

While histories of philosophy traditionally devote a paragraph to the psychology of each author , it seems to me it is not the case for Locke. There might be reasons for this: (1) Locke is somewhat agnostic as to the substance of mind, the Self…
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Locke's Anarchy versus Marx's Anarchy

I just got through reading Locke's Second Treatise of Government, and I read quite a bit of Marx a while back. They both have interesting ideas on the state of humans in a world devoid of civilization and basic societal structures. Locke, from what…
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Does the 'too many thinkers' argument cripple Locke's conception of Man and Persons?

Does the too many thinkers problem present a counter-argument to John Locke's account of personal identity, if we apply it to his conceptions of Man and Person? If so, how might Locke answer this objection? Does he think that only the person (and…
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Was John Locke an intellectual father of "economic growth" as a social goal?

I am researching on the origin of the "economic growth imperative". In this book it says: A central theme of Locke's political teachings is growth; a theme which will not only be central to the philosophy of the liberal state, but also to the other…
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What are the main differences between Berkeley's and Locke's view of ideas?

I'm currently taking Modern Philosophy at my university, and we went over Berkeley and Locke in a span of ten minutes in order to get to Hume. As far as what they (Berkeley and Locke) thought about "ideas," how we acquire them or what role they play…
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What exactly is the philosophical genealogy of racism, in particular Locke and Hume?

Afua Hirsch in her book, Brit(ish) writes: I was in my thirties when I learned that both Locke and Hume were also important proponents of racism, pouring that same intellect they used to such great effect in epistemology – the theory of knowledge –…
Mozibur Ullah
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What is the difference between the idea of the "social contract" in Hobbes and Locke?

I have just read about them both in an introductory book to philosophy, but I am confused between the interpretations of these two people, of the "social contract" in political philosophy.
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Racism and empiricism - Locke and Hume in the dock?

Edward Said writes in his book Orientalism Similarly-as Harry Bracken has been tirelessly showing-philosophers will conduct their discussions of Locke, Hume, and empiricism without ever taking into account that there is an explicit connection in…
Mozibur Ullah
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John Locke's historical context of Two Treatises of Government

I know that this a really vague question but, I just want to know what are the principal historical events that influenced John Locke regarding his Second Treatise (specifically the ideas exposed on chapters II, V, VII, VIII, IX and XII) like,…
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"Idea of Power" - Locke and Hume

What is the concept of "power" in the context of "causation" in the philosophy of John Locke and David Hume? At one instance, in his treatise "An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding", Hume seems to mean "necessary connection" by the "concept of…
Mushrraf Baig Ashraf
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Is syllogism an inference rule?

I was reading Anthony Andres' article, "ARISTOTLE AND THE CONVENTIONAL LOGICIANS ON THE FOURTH FIGURE". The author explains why according to him the introduction of the fourth figure by his students and in today's logic books is a…
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