John Locke
1632-1704 | Wrington, England
The architect of liberal democracy. John Locke argued that the mind begins as a blank slate, that knowledge comes from experience, and that government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed. His Two Treatises of Government provided the philosophical foundation for constitutional democracy. His Letter Concerning Toleration argued for religious freedom. Thomas Jefferson kept Locke's works at his bedside. When America declared that all men are created equal with inalienable rights, it was speaking Locke's language.
Locke's Works
Epistemology, politics, and religion"The mind is a blank slate." (Tabula rasa)
- Essay Concerning Human Understanding
"Government has no other end, but the preservation of property."
- Two Treatises of Government
"New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common."
- Essay Concerning Human Understanding
"Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours."
- Of the Conduct of the Understanding
"The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts."
- Essay Concerning Human Understanding