LOCKE, JOHN

born Aug. 29, 1632, Wrington, Somerset, Eng. died Oct. 28, 1704, Oates, Essex English political and educational philosopher who laid the epistemological foundations of modern science. He was the initiator of the Age of Enlightenment and Reason in England and France, an inspirer of the U.S. Constitution, and is still a powerful influence on the life and thought of the West. Locke was educated at Westminster School and Oxford, where he was fascinated with experimental science. After gaining diplomatic experience abroad (1665), Locke became physician and adviser (1667) to Lord Ashley (later 1st earl of Shaftesbury) and collaborated with such scientists as Robert Boyle. He was elected to the Royal Society (1668) and was attracted by the liberal ideas of the Cambridge Platonists and Latitudinarians. By 1675 Locke suffered from asthma, and, believing at this time that his ailment was phthisis and hoping to improve his health, he went to France late in the year. He spent his time partly in Montpellier, where there was a good medical school; partly in Paris, where he made friends with several scholars and scientists who influenced his developing empiricism; and partly traveling about France. He particularly studied that country's great works of civil engineering, its methods of cultivation, and Louis XIV's treatment of his Protestant subjects, whose rights, granted them by the Edict of Nantes, were being diminished legally or by chicanery. He also worked on what was to be his major book, the Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), and wrote short essays on various philosophical subjects. The fall of Shaftesbury and his adherents, now called Whigs, and the accession of James II forced Locke to live in Holland from 1683 to 1689. He was declared a traitor (1685) but returned to England in 1689 after William of Orange became king. In 1691 Locke retired to Essex, where he continued to write, prepare fresh editions of the Essay, superintend a French translation (by P. Coste, 1700), and answer criticism. born Aug. 29, 1632, Wrington, Somerset, Eng. died Oct. 28, 1704, Oates, Essex English philosopher who was an initiator of the Enlightenment in England and France, an inspirer of the U.S. Constitution, and the author of, among other works, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, his account of human knowledge, including the new science of his dayi.e., modern science. Additional reading Biographies Early works include Lord King, The Life and Letters of John Locke, new ed. (1858, reissued 1984), an amateurish work but based on the Lovelace Collection of Locke papers in the possession of Peter King's family; and H.R. Fox Bourne, The Life of John Locke, 2 vol. (1876, reprinted 1969), a detailed study, based on secondary sources. Maurice W. Cranston, John Locke: A Biography (1957, reissued 1985), is now the standard biography. An outstanding resource is E.S. De Beer (ed.), The Correspondence of John Locke (1976 ), part of The Clarendon Edition of the Works of John Locke; 7 of 8 vol. have appeared to 1986. Commentaries John W. Yolton, Locke: An Introduction (1985); and John Dunn, Locke (1984), provide general accounts of Locke's life and work. For Locke's theory of knowledge, see R.S. Woolhouse, Locke (1983); and James Gibson, Locke's Theory of Knowledge and Its Historical Relations (1917, reprinted 1968), another useful introductory essay, if somewhat old-fashioned in its approach. For a survey of Locke's thought, see Richard I. Aaron, John Locke, 3rd ed. (1971, reprinted 1973); D.J. O'Connor, John Locke (1952, reissued 1967); and John W. Yolton, John Locke and the Way of Ideas (1956, reprinted 1968), a study based on Locke's unpublished as well as his published writings.Specialized commentaries on Locke's epistemology are found in John W. Yolton, Locke and the Compass of Human Understanding: A Selective Commentary on the Essay (1970); J.L. Mackie, Problems from Locke (1976); and I.C. Tipton (ed.), Locke on Human Understanding: Selected Essays (1977). Political theory is covered in Sterling Power Lamprecht, The Moral and Political Philosophy of John Locke (1918, reprinted 1962); Geraint Parry, John Locke (1978); J.W. Gough, John Locke's Political Philosophy: Eight Studies, 2nd ed. (1973); and M. Seliger, The Liberal Politics of John Locke (1968), an exposition and a defense of Locke's arguments for political freedom. W. Von Leyden, Hobbes and Locke: The Politics of Freedom and Obligation (1981); Richard H. Cox, Locke on War and Peace (1960, reprinted 1982); and C.B. Macpherson, The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism: Hobbes to Locke (1962, reprinted 1983), explore the relationship between Locke's political thought and that of Thomas Hobbes. See also John Dunn, The Political Thought of John Locke: An Historical Account of the Argument of the Two Treatises of Government (1969, reprinted 1982), a survey of Locke's thought in the context of his intellectual environment; and Raymond Polin, La Politique morale de John Locke (1960, reprinted 1984), on Locke's liberalism from the perspective of a French historian of ideas. James Tully, A Discourse on Property: John Locke and His Adversaries (1980, reissued 1982); Gordon J. Schochet, Life, Liberty and Property: Essays on Locke's Political Ideas (1971); and J.G.A. Pocock and Richard Ashcraft, John Locke (1980), discuss Locke's defense of the natural right to property. See also Karen Iversen Vaughn, John Locke: Economist and Social Scientist (1980), for Locke's ideas on economics; and Kenneth Dewhurst, John Locke, 16311704, Physician and Philosopher (1963, reprinted 1984), on his career as a practitioner and theorist of medical science. Research in progress, queries, and corrections to published work on Locke are reported in The Locke Newsletter (annual). Bibliographies H.O. Christophersen, A Bibliographical Introduction to the Study of John Locke (1930, reprinted 1968), is still useful, although its references have been assimilated into a larger, more recent work, Jean S. Yolton and John W. Yolton, John Locke: A Reference Guide (1985)both cover mainly secondary sources. John C. Attig (comp.), The Works of John Locke: A Comprehensive Bibliography from the Seventeenth Century to the Present (1985), tracks the various editions and translations of Locke's writings and places them in historical context. See also Roland Hall and R.S. Woolhouse, 80 Years of Locke Scholarship: A Bibliographical Guide (1983); and P. Long, A Summary Catalogue of the Lovelace Collection of the Papers of John Locke in the Bodleian Library (1959), a guide to the most important source of manuscript material. Richard I. Aaron The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica Major Works: Philosophy, religion, and education An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding (1690); Epistola de Tolerantia (1689; A Letter Concerning Toleration, trans. by William Popple, 1689); A Second Letter Concerning Toleration (1690); A Third Letter for Toleration (1692); Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693); The Reasonableness of Christianity, as Delivered in the Scriptures (1695); A Vindication of the Reasonableness of Christianity (1695); A Second Vindication of the Reasonableness of Christianity (1697); Of the Conduct of the Understanding, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke (1706). Political philosophy and economics Two Treatises of Government (1690); Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest, and Raising the Value of Money (1692); Short Observations on a Printed Paper, Intituled, for Encouraging the Coining Silver Money in England, and After for Keeping It Here (1695); Further Considerations Concerning Raising the Value of Money (1695). Recommended editions A complete edition is The Works of John Locke, new ed. corrected, 10 vol. (1823, reprinted 1963). There is no complete modern edition of Locke's works, although several volumes have appeared in the Oxford Press series, The Clarendon Edition of the Works of John Locke; the first of these was a critical edition of An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, edited by Peter H. Nidditch (1975, reprinted 1979). Useful editions of other single works include A Letter Concerning Toleration, edited by James Tully (1983); Two Treatises of Government, edited by Peter Laslett, 2nd ed. (1967, reprinted 1970), a critical edition; and The Educational Writings of John Locke: A Critical Edition with Introduction and Notes, edited by James L. Axtell (1968).