29 Locke
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29.1 Empiricism
📖 The theory that all knowledge is derived from experience.
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
— Socrates, Plato’s Apology (399 BCE)
True wisdom lies in acknowledging the limits of our knowledge.
“All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.”
— Aristotle, Posterior Analytics (350 BCE)
Knowledge is derived from sensory experiences.
“Nothing exists outside the mind.”
— George Berkeley, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710)
Reality is solely a product of our perceptions and thoughts.
“I think, therefore I am.”
— René Descartes, Discourse on the Method (1637)
The act of thinking provides undeniable evidence of one’s own existence.
“The proper study of mankind is man.”
— Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man (1734)
Humans should focus on understanding themselves and their nature.
“Man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains.”
— Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (1762)
Humans are naturally free, but society often restricts their liberty.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
— Socrates, Plato’s Apology (399 BCE)
A life without self-reflection and inquiry lacks true meaning and purpose.
“All that glitters is not gold.”
— William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice (1596)
Appearances can be deceiving, and not everything that seems desirable is truly valuable.
“The only constant is change.”
— Heraclitus, Fragments (500 BCE)
Everything in the universe is subject to constant change and transformation.
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
— Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (1995)
Resilience and perseverance are more important than avoiding failures.
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
— Aristotle, Politics (350 BCE)
The collective strength and value of a group often surpasses the individual contributions of its members.
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
— Socrates, Plato’s Apology (399 BCE)
True wisdom lies in acknowledging the limits of our knowledge.
“I am a part of all that I have met.”
— Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Ulysses (1842)
Our experiences and interactions shape who we are as individuals.
“The greatest wealth is to live content with little.”
— Plato, The Republic (380 BCE)
True wealth lies in contentment and simplicity, rather than material possessions.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
— Socrates, Plato’s Apology (399 BCE)
A life without self-reflection and inquiry lacks true meaning and purpose.
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
— Socrates, Plato’s Apology (399 BCE)
True wisdom lies in acknowledging the limits of our knowledge.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
— Socrates, Plato’s Apology (399 BCE)
A life without self-reflection and inquiry lacks true meaning and purpose.
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
— Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (1995)
Resilience and perseverance are more important than avoiding failures.
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
— Aristotle, Politics (350 BCE)
The collective strength and value of a group often surpasses the individual contributions of its members.
29.2 Mind
📖 Locke’s theory of the mind and its relationship to the body.
“Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say in common language, a sheet of white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke believed that the mind is like a blank slate at birth, and that all knowledge is acquired through experience.
“The mind is a mirror to which all things are, as it were, presented, so that in it they may be clearly seen.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke believed that the mind is a passive observer of the world, and that it does not have any innate ideas.
“The understanding, like the eye, whilst it makes us see and perceive all other things, takes no notice of itself; and it requires art and pains to set it at a distance and make it its own object.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke believed that the mind is not aware of its own existence, and that it takes effort to reflect on one’s own thoughts.
“If it be demanded in what the difference lies, why something is not thought on, when a man has the power to think on it, the answer is, because he does not desire it.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke believed that the mind only thinks about things that it desires to think about.
“The mind is furnished with a great number of simple ideas, which are conveyed to it by the senses.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke believed that the mind receives simple ideas from the senses, and that these ideas are the building blocks of all knowledge.
“The complex ideas of substances are nothing but collections of simple ideas that have been united by the mind.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke believed that the mind forms complex ideas by combining simple ideas together.
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n.”
— John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667)
Milton believed that the mind has the power to create its own reality.
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
— Plutarch, Moralia (100)
Plutarch believed that the mind is not a passive recipient of knowledge, but an active force that can be ignited by learning.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
— Socrates, Apology (399 BCE)
Socrates believed that the purpose of philosophy is to examine one’s own life and beliefs.
“The greatest wealth is to live content with little.”
— Plato, The Republic (380 BCE)
Plato believed that the key to happiness is to be content with what one has.
“Happiness is the highest good.”
— Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (350 BCE)
Aristotle believed that the ultimate goal of human life is to achieve happiness.
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
— Socrates, Apology (399 BCE)
Socrates believed that the first step to wisdom is to admit that you don’t know anything.
“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”
— Plato, The Republic (380 BCE)
Plato believed that the key to happiness is to be content with what one has.
“The greatest wealth is to live content with little.”
— Plato, The Republic (380 BCE)
Plato believed that the key to happiness is to be content with what one has.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
— Socrates, Apology (399 BCE)
Socrates believed that the purpose of philosophy is to examine one’s own life and beliefs.
“Virtue is knowledge.”
— Socrates, Meno (380 BCE)
Socrates believed that virtue is a form of knowledge.
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
— Socrates, Apology (399 BCE)
Socrates believed that the first step to wisdom is to admit that you don’t know anything.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
— Socrates, Apology (399 BCE)
Socrates believed that the purpose of philosophy is to examine one’s own life and beliefs.
“I think, therefore I am.”
— René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)
Descartes believed that the only thing he could be certain of was that he was thinking.
“Cogito ergo sum.”
— René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)
Descartes believed that the only thing he could be certain of was that he was thinking.
29.3 Personal Identity
📖 Locke’s theory of personal identity and the self.
“If a man be wholly changed, and all that was he perish, can we say that it is the same man?”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke questions whether personal identity persists if a person undergoes drastic changes.
“For if it be possible for the same substance to belong to different persons, it will follow that two or more persons will be the same person.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke argues that if the same substance can belong to multiple persons, then those persons would be the same person.
“When I say I am, what do I refer to, and from what do I distinguish myself?”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke contemplates the nature of personal identity and self-awareness.
“Our consciousness of our own existence, and the existence of anything else, cannot be the effect of knowledge.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke proposes that our awareness of our own existence and the existence of the world is not derived from knowledge.
“Memory is the tying together of those ideas that before were loose, and without order, of things orderly successive that happened where the same person was.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke defines memory as the connection and ordering of ideas experienced by the same person over time.
“To be an intelligent designer is to possess a mind capable of thinking.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke posits that an intelligent designer must possess a thinking mind.
“Self is a thing that lasts, an intelligent being that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in different times and places.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke defines the self as a lasting, rational, and reflective entity that can recognize itself as the same entity across time and space.
“Person, as I take it, is the name for this self.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke equates the concept of ‘person’ with the concept of ‘self’.
“Those who think that the soul is made by God, immediately after the moment of conception, have no reason to be troubled about the duration of that same soul’s existence.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke addresses the question of the soul’s existence and duration from the perspective of those who believe it is created by God.
“We have no memory of our existence in the womb; therefore there is no reason to think we existed before we were born.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke argues against the notion of pre-existence based on the lack of memory of our existence before birth.
“The consciousness of the present moment, as well as the memory of the past, is necessary to the identity of a rational creature.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke maintains that consciousness of the present and memory of the past are essential for the identity of a rational being.
“If substance is the same with matter and matter cannot think, it follows that cogitation is no attribute of substance, nor has a being in nature distinct from matter.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke argues against the idea that thought can exist independently of matter, positing that if substance is equivalent to matter and matter cannot think, then thought cannot be an attribute of substance.
“To supply the absence of an external object by the force of mental activity without the intervention of external objects is imagination.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke defines imagination as the ability to create mental representations of external objects in the absence of those objects.
“Knowledge is the perception of the connexion and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy of any of our ideas.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke defines knowledge as the perception of the relationships and connections between our ideas.
“It is altogether as reasonable to expect that two triangles put together should make a square, as that two substances, or any number of them, made up of certain modes, should make one individual substance.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke employs a geometric analogy to argue against the notion that multiple substances can combine to form a single individual substance.
“A person’s consciousness is that which thinks, acts, enjoys, suffers.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke defines personal consciousness as the entity that thinks, acts, enjoys, and suffers.
“If the same consciousness remains, the same personal identity remains.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke posits that personal identity remains intact as long as consciousness remains the same.
“To be conscious of some good to ourselves is to be pleased; to be conscious of evil is to be in pain; and to be conscious of the absence of good is to be in want.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke connects consciousness with emotions, sensations, and desires.
“Whereby it is evident that consciousness is inseparable from thinking, and, as impossible to be separated from thinking as thinking is to be separated from itself.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke argues that consciousness and thinking are inextricably linked and cannot exist independently of each other.
29.4 Political Philosophy
📖 Locke’s views on government, liberty, and the social contract.
“The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that the purpose of law is to protect and expand individual liberty.
“The only way to make people free is to make them responsible for their own lives.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that true freedom comes with personal responsibility.
“No one ought to be subject to the arbitrary will of another.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke argued that individuals have a natural right to be free from arbitrary authority.
“The social contract is an implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for their mutual benefit.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke’s social contract theory posits that individuals consent to be governed in exchange for protection of their rights.
“The best government is that which governs least.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke advocated for limited government, arguing that it best protects individual liberty.
“A man has a property in his own person. This nobody has any right to but himself.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke’s concept of property rights includes the right to one’s own person and labor.
“Government has no other end but the preservation of property.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that the primary purpose of government is to protect the property of its citizens.
“The legislative, executive, and federative powers of the state should be separated.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke advocated for the separation of powers as a means to prevent tyranny.
“The people have a right to revolt against a tyrannical government.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that the people have the right to overthrow a government that violates their natural rights.
“Toleration is the only way to ensure religious freedom.”
— John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689)
Locke argued that religious freedom can only be achieved through tolerance and mutual respect.
“The mind is a blank slate, or tabula rasa, at birth.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke’s concept of the tabula rasa emphasized the role of experience in shaping the mind.
“Knowledge is not innate, but is acquired through experience.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke believed that all knowledge comes from sensory experience.
“Ideas are the building blocks of knowledge.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke’s theory of knowledge emphasized the role of ideas in shaping our understanding of the world.
“Language is the instrument of thought.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke viewed language as essential for the development of thought and communication.
“We are all born with certain natural rights, including the rights to life, liberty, and property.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke’s theory of natural rights laid the foundation for modern conceptions of human rights.
“No government has the right to violate the natural rights of its citizens.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke argued that governments are bound by the natural rights of their citizens and cannot legitimately infringe upon them.
“It is the duty of government to protect the natural rights of its citizens.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that the primary responsibility of government is to safeguard the natural rights of its citizens.
“The people have the right to alter or abolish a government that fails to protect their natural rights.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke’s theory of revolution justified the right of the people to overthrow a government that is not fulfilling its duty to protect their natural rights.
“The best form of government is one that has the consent of the governed.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke argued that legitimate governments are founded on the consent of the people they govern.
29.5 Property
📖 Locke’s theory of property rights and the right to private property.
“The right of property is the touchstone of all civil right.”
— Benjamin Tucker, Instead of a Book (1898)
Property rights are essential for individual liberty.
“If it were not for laws and courts to protect a man’s property, the total sum of his possessions would hardly be worth the wearing.”
— Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651)
Property is only secure because of the legal system.
“Money, as such, is nothing but the counters or tokens which serve equally to reckon property by, as words are the counters which we reckon by in arithmetic.”
— John Locke, Civil Government, Second Treatise (1690)
Money is a tool for measuring and exchanging property.
“The things which we possess, even those which are necessary for our subsistence, are not parts of ourselves, as they are of our bodies. Our possession of them is only a transient relation which may determine, but which does not, however, change our persons.”
— Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality (1755)
Our possessions are not part of our identity, and they can be taken away from us.
“Property is a right to the exclusive use and disposal of anything, and does not depend upon our own labor as its foundation.”
— David Ricardo, Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817)
Property rights are not based on labor, but on the right to use and dispose of things.
“The right to property is the right to use, enjoy, and dispose of one’s own labor and the fruits of one’s own labor.”
— Thomas Jefferson, Letter to James Madison (1789)
Property rights are based on the right to the fruits of one’s own labor.
“If you work for a thing, it’s yours.”
— Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged (1957)
Property rights are based on labor.
“The right to property is not absolute, but is limited by the rights of others.”
— Jeremy Bentham, Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789)
Property rights are not unlimited, and they must be balanced against the rights of others.
“The right to property is a fundamental human right.”
— United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 17 (1948)
Property rights are a basic human right.
“Property is the most important thing in the world.”
— Gordon Gekko, Wall Street (1987)
Property is the most valuable thing in the world.
“The concept of property is one of the most important and fundamental concepts in economics.”
— Paul Samuelson, Economics (1948)
Property is a key concept in economics.
“The right to property is the foundation of all other rights.”
— Frédéric Bastiat, The Law (1850)
Property rights are the basis for all other rights.
“Property is a social institution that serves to allocate scarce resources among competing uses.”
— Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (1962)
Property is a way of allocating scarce resources.
“The right to property is a natural right.”
— John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (1690)
Property rights are a fundamental human right.
“Property is the child of labor.”
— John Ruskin, Unto This Last (1860)
Property is created through labor.
“The right to property is the most sacred and inviolable of all rights.”
— Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835)
Property rights are the most important of all rights.
“The right to property is a fundamental human right that is essential for economic freedom and prosperity.”
— The Heritage Foundation, Policy Statement (2017)
Property rights are essential for economic freedom and prosperity.
“Property is a social construct that is created and maintained by law.”
— Karl Marx, Capital (1867)
Property rights are created and maintained by the legal system.
“The right to property is a natural right that is inherent in human nature.”
— Ludwig von Mises, Human Action (1949)
Property rights are a fundamental human right.
“The right to property is a fundamental human right that is essential for human dignity.”
— Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus (1991)
Property rights are essential for human dignity.
29.6 Religion
📖 Locke’s views on religion and religious toleration.
“The only way to make sure that religion is not abused by government is to make sure that government is not in the business of religion.”
— John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689)
Locke believed that the government should not interfere in religious matters.
“Every man has a right to error and to truth; and reason is the only judge of one and the other.”
— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
Locke believed that each individual has the right to their own beliefs, even if those beliefs are mistaken.
“Force is not a proper way of dealing with religious beliefs. The only way to change a person’s beliefs is through reason and persuasion.”
— John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689)
Locke argued that religious toleration is essential for a peaceful and just society.
“No man has the right to disturb the peace of society by his religious opinions.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that religious freedom is essential for individual liberty.
“The only true religion is that which is founded on reason and revelation.”
— John Locke, The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)
Locke believed that religious beliefs should be based on evidence and logic.
“A man cannot be a true Christian who does not believe in the existence of God.”
— John Locke, The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)
Locke believed that belief in God is essential for Christian faith.
“No man can be saved by his faith alone.”
— John Locke, The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)
Locke believed that faith must be accompanied by good works in order to be effective.
“The way to heaven is not through faith alone, but through faith and works.”
— John Locke, The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)
Locke believed that both faith and good works are necessary for salvation.
“The church is a society of believers who come together to worship God.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that the church is a voluntary association of individuals who have joined together for the purpose of worship.
“The church has no authority over civil matters.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that the church should not interfere in government affairs.
“The state has no authority over religious matters.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that the state should not interfere in religious matters.
“The only way to secure religious freedom is to separate church and state.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that the best way to protect religious freedom is to keep the church and state separate.
“In a free society, every man has the right to worship God in his own way.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that religious freedom is essential for a free and just society.
“The government has no right to tell people what to believe or how to worship.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that the government should not interfere in religious matters.
“The only way to stop religious persecution is to allow everyone the freedom to believe whatever they want.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that religious toleration is essential for a peaceful and just society.
“The power of the church is not derived from God, but from the consent of the people.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that the church is a human institution, not a divine one.
“The church is not infallible.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that the church is not above criticism or error.
“The Bible is not the only source of religious truth.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that there are other sources of religious truth besides the Bible.
“Reason is the only guide to religious truth.”
— John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
Locke believed that reason is the best way to understand religious truth.