Locke selected works volume 2 m 1988. Basic principles and ideas of the philosophy of J.
By the middle of the 17th century, the reform movement intensified in England and the Puritan church established itself. Unlike the powerful and fabulously rich catholic church The reform movement preached the renunciation of wealth and luxury, economy and restraint, hard work and modesty. The Puritans simply dressed, refused all kinds of decorations and accepted the simplest food, denied idleness and empty pastime and, on the contrary, welcomed constant work in every possible way.
In 1632, the future philosopher and educator John Locke was born into a Puritan family. He received an excellent education at Westminster School and continued his academic career as a teacher of Greek and rhetoric and philosophy at Christ Church College.
The young teacher was interested in the natural sciences, and especially chemistry, biology and medicine. In college, he continues to study the sciences that interest him, while he is also concerned about political and legal issues, ethics and educational issues.
At the same time, he became close to the king’s relative, Lord Ashley Cooper, who led the opposition to the ruling elite. He openly criticizes royal power and the state of affairs in England, and boldly speaks out about the possibility of overthrowing the existing system and forming a bourgeois republic.
John Locke leaves teaching and settles on Lord Cooper's estate as his personal physician and close friend.
Lord Cooper, together with the opposition-minded nobles, is trying to make his dreams come true, but the palace coup failed, and Cooper, together with Locke, has to hastily flee to Holland.
It was here, in Holland, that John Locke wrote his best works, which later brought him worldwide fame.
Basic philosophical ideas (briefly)
The political worldview of John Locke had a huge influence on the formation political philosophy West. The Declaration of the Rights of Man, created by Jefferson and Washington, builds on the teachings of the philosopher, especially in such sections as the creation of three branches of government, the separation of church and state, freedom of religion and all matters relating to human rights.
Locke believed that all the knowledge acquired by humanity over the entire period of existence can be divided into three parts: natural philosophy (exact and natural sciences), practical art (this includes all political and social sciences, philosophy and rhetoric, as well as logic), teaching about signs (all linguistic sciences, as well as all concepts and ideas).
Western philosophy before Locke was based on the philosophy of the ancient scientist Plato and his ideas of ideal subjectivism. Plato believed that people received some ideas and great discoveries even before birth, that is immortal soul received information from space, and knowledge appeared almost out of nowhere.
Locke, in many of his writings, refuted the teachings of Plato and other “idealists,” arguing that there was no evidence for the existence of an eternal soul. But at the same time, he believed that such concepts as morality and ethics are inherited and that there are people who are “morally blind,” that is, who do not understand any moral principles and are therefore alien to human society. Although he also could not find evidence for this theory.
As for the exact mathematical sciences, most people have no idea about them, since learning these sciences requires long and methodical preparation. If this knowledge could be obtained, as the agnostics claimed, from nature, then there would be no need to strain, trying to understand the complex postulates of mathematics.
Features of consciousness according to Locke
Consciousness is a feature of only the human brain to display, remember and explain existing reality. According to Locke, consciousness resembles a blank white sheet of paper on which, starting from the first birthday, you can reflect your impressions of the world around you.
Consciousness relies on sensory images, that is, obtained with the help of the senses, and then we generalize, analyze and systematize them.
John Locke believed that every thing came into being as a result of a cause, which in turn was the product of an idea of human thought. All ideas are generated by the qualities of already existing things.
For example, a small snowball is cold, round and white, so it gives rise to these impressions in us, which can also be called qualities . But these qualities are reflected in our consciousness, which is why they are called ideas. .
Primary and secondary qualities
Locke considered the primary and secondary qualities of any thing. Primary qualities include those necessary to describe and consider the internal qualities of each thing. These are the ability to move, figure, density and number. The scientist believed that these qualities are inherent in every object, and our perception forms the concept of the external and internal state of objects.
Secondary qualities include the ability of things to generate certain sensations in us, and since things are able to interact with people’s bodies, they are able to awaken sensory images in people through vision, hearing and sensations.
Locke's theories are quite unclear regarding religion, since the concepts of "God" and "soul" were immutable and sacrosanct in the 17th century. One can understand the scientist’s position on this issue, since, on the one hand, he was dominated by Christian morality, and on the other hand, together with Hobbes, he defended the ideas of materialism.
Locke believed that “the highest pleasure of man is happiness,” and only it can make a person purposefully act to achieve what he wants. He believed that since every person is attracted to things, it is this desire to possess things that makes us suffer and experience the pain of unsatisfied desire.
At the same time, we experience double feelings: since possession causes pleasure, and the impossibility of possession causes mental pain. Locke included such feelings as anger, shame, envy, and hatred as concepts of pain.
Locke's ideas regarding the state of state power at various stages of development of the human collective are interesting. Unlike Hobbes, who believed that in the pre-state state there was only the “law of the jungle” or the “law of force,” Locke wrote that the human collective was always subject to rules more complex than the law of force, which determined the essence of human existence.
Since people are, first of all, rational beings, they are able to use their reason to control and organize the existence of any group.
In the state of nature, every person enjoys freedom as a natural right given by nature itself. Moreover, all people are equal both in relation to their society and in relation to their rights.
The concept of property
According to Locke, only labor is the basis for the emergence of property. For example, if a person planted a garden and patiently cultivated it, then the right to the result obtained belongs to him on the basis of the labor invested, even if the land does not belong to this worker.
The scientist's ideas about property were truly revolutionary for that time. He believed that a person should not have more property than he can use. The very concept of “property” is sacred and protected by the state, so inequality in property status can be tolerated.
The people as the bearer of supreme power
As a follower of Hobbes, Locke supported the “social contract theory,” that is, he believed that people enter into a contract with the state, giving up part of their natural rights in exchange for the state protecting them from internal and external enemies.
At the same time, the supreme power is necessarily affirmed by all members of society, and if the supreme overlord does not cope with his responsibilities and does not justify the trust of the people, then the people can re-elect him.
Hobbes' younger contemporary was another representative of English moral and legal philosophy - John Locke (1632-1704). He was born into a lawyer's family. After graduating from Oxford University, Locke served as tutor and secretary in the family of Lord Ashley. Together with him he emigrated to France, where he became acquainted with the teachings French philosopher Rene Descartes.
Locke's main works are “An Essay on Human Understanding”, “Treats on Government”, “Thoughts on Education”.
In the natural (pre-state) state, according to Locke, natural free law, the law of nature, which differs from the Hobbesian theory of “war against all,” dominates. Unlike Hobbes, Locke considers the willingness of people to follow reasonable natural laws to be an expression of natural equality. Locke does not imagine that people could ever live without order and law. The law of nature determines through reason what is good and what is bad; If the law is broken, everyone can punish the culprit. According to this law, the offended person is the judge in his own case and himself carries out the sentence. The law of nature, being an expression of rationality human nature, “Demands peace and security for all humanity.” Locke D.. Selected philosophical works. Moscow 1960.T.2. S.8. And a person, in accordance with the requirement of reason, also in a state of nature, pursuing his interests and defending his own - his life, freedom and property, strives not to harm another. V.S. Nersesyants. Philosophy of law. Norm. Moscow 2001.C.466
The state of nature is complete freedom of action and disposal of one’s property and personality. The protection of the law of nature and its implementation in the state of nature is ensured by the power of each person; punish lawbreakers and protect the innocent. The government cannot encroach on the inalienable rights of citizens.
Freedom of opinion is, according to Locke, an inalienable human right. He believed that in the sphere of judgment everyone is the highest and absolute authority. This principle also applies to religious beliefs, but freedom of belief, in his opinion, is not unlimited, it is limited by considerations of morality and order.
Locke designates the traditional requirement “to give to each his own, his own” as a fundamental right; the right to property (the right to one’s own, one’s own).
By property, Locke understands not only purely economic needs, but also “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Property and life act as the embodiment of freedom, and in them the choice of vocation is realized, goals are relied on and achieved. Locke regards individual freedom as the great basis of property. Locke believed that people do not become owners because they take possession of objects of nature, but they are able to appropriate objects of nature through labor, because they are initially free, and by virtue of this they are owners. So he notes that every person, according to the law of nature, has the right to defend “his property, that is, his life, freedom and property.” Locke D. Selected philosophical works. Moscow 1960. T.2. P.50.
Locke's theory begins with the question: is private property justified? Since everyone owns property in the form of himself, the fruits of the labor of his hands can be considered his property. Labor creates property. Thus, Locke justifies property not because it is protected by a law established by people, but because it corresponds to a higher law - “natural law”.
Social contract and the State.
Reasonable overcoming of the shortcomings of the state of nature leads, according to Locke, to a social contract on the establishment of political power and the state. People seek to move from a state of nature into a politically organized society, not out of fear of death, but because they perceive that they will be safer in an orderly society than in a state of nature. As a consequence, the formation of a state is necessary, which is created through the conclusion of a social contract.
A social contract is concluded between people and the state. “The main purpose of people entering society is the desire to enjoy their property peacefully and safely, and the main instrument and means for this are the laws established in this society; the first and fundamental positive law of all states is the establishment of legislative power; in the same way, the first and fundamental natural law, to which the legislative power itself must submit, is the preservation of society and each member of society” Locke. D. Selected philosophical works. Moscow 1960 T.2.S.76
However, “according to the social contract,” people do not renounce their natural rights, and the law of nature itself continues to operate in the state state, thereby determining the goals, nature and limits of the powers of political power. An essential point of the Lockean state is the “doctrine of the legality of resistance to any unlawful manifestation of power” Locke D. Selected philosophical works. Moscow 1960.T.2.C.116.. After the conclusion of a contract, the people remain the judge of whether the authorities established and authorized by them correctly fulfill the contractual obligations assigned to them or begin to violate the contract. If the government (ruler) acts contrary to the current law and perverts the laws or does not take them into account at all, then the subjects have the right to terminate the agreement with the government and, using the right to self-defense, and even rise to revolution.
The social contract, according to Locke, is not concluded once and for all, without the right to subsequently adjust this contract. The people have the right to a complete break in cases of transition of political power to absolutism and despotism. Contractual relations between people and the state are a constantly renewed process.
In order for natural human rights not to remain at the level of moral requirements, they, according to Locke, need legal recognition by the state. Providing legal guarantees to rights and freedoms was the main duty and task of any state.
The state, according to Locke, is a collection of people united into one under the auspices of a general law established by them and creating a judicial authority empowered to resolve conflicts between them and punish criminals.
As a result of the social agreement, the state became the guarantor of natural rights and freedoms. It was given the right to make laws with sanctions and to use the power of society to enforce these laws. However, the state should not have encroached on these rights themselves, since the limit of its power in all forms of government is the natural rights of its citizens. State power, Locke wrote, cannot assume the right to command by arbitrary despotic decrees; on the contrary, it is obliged to administer justice and determine the rights of citizens through the proclamation of permanent laws and authorized judges. Locke believed that state power (government) itself must obey the laws established in society, otherwise citizens have every right to regain their original rights and transfer them to a new power (ruler).
Locke emphasizes that a person is not born a subject of a particular state. A person, having become an adult, as a free person chooses under the authority of which government, a citizen of which state he wants to become. “Only the consent of free people makes them members of this state, and this consent is given separately, one by one, as each comes of age, and not at the same time by many people, so people do not notice it and believe that it does not happen at all or is not necessary , and conclude that they are by nature subjects in the same way as they are people” Locke D. Selected Philosophical Works. Moscow 1960 T.2.C.68.
Thus, we are talking not only about the contractual origin of the state, but also about the form of contractual establishment of citizenship in relation to each person. This concept of contractual relations between the people as a whole and individuals, on the one hand, and the state, on the other, presupposes mutual rights and obligations of the contracting parties, and not the unilateral absolute right of the state and the lack of rights of subjects, as is the case in the Hobbesian interpretation of the contractual theory of the establishment of the state. V.S. Nersesyants. Philosophy of law. Norm. Moscow 2001.С468
The state differs from all other forms of collectivity (families, estates) in that only it embodies political power, that is, the right, in the name of the public good, to create laws to regulate and preserve property, as well as the right to use the force of society to execute these laws and protect the state from attack from outside. In such a state, the law prevails, ensuring natural inalienable rights of property, individual freedom and equality. The freedom of people under the rule of law, Locke wrote, “lies in having a constant rule for life common to everyone in this society and established by the legislative power created in it; it's the freedom to follow my at will in all cases where the law does not prohibit it, and not to be dependent on the constant, uncertain, unknown autocratic will of another person.” D. Locke. Selected philosophical works. Moscow 1960.T.2.C.16
Locke's philosophical and legal teaching is permeated with the idea of the inalienability of natural fundamental rights and freedoms of a person in the civil state.
Locke sharply distinguished the state and society, creating one of the main doctrines of liberalism: Society is much more important than the state and will outlive it. The collapse of the state does not entail the collapse of society; Usually the state perishes under the swords of conquerors. But if it collapses from internal reasons, betraying the trust of the people, Locke does not foresee chaos, believing that society will create a new state. If society disappears, no state will probably survive.
For Locke, an absolute monarchy is not a state at all, but something worse than a society of savages. There, at least everyone is a judge in his own case, but in an absolute monarchy only the king is free.
Equality
Tabularasa (blank slate), the initial equality of children in the sense of their lack of knowledge, serves as a prerequisite for the initial natural equality, and the gradual development of their different and unequal abilities and inclinations, including hard work, is the reason that in subsequent history people act with a variety of possibilities and perspectives. “Different degrees of diligence contributed to the fact that people acquired property of various sizes... the invention of money gave them the opportunity to accumulate and increase it.” Locke D. Selected philosophical works. T.2. Moscow.1960.C30 Some became rich and influential, and it was they who were most interested in creating statehood. The lot of the poor was to work for a piece of bread. This is how Locke looks at this question, in his own consistent way, but at the same time mixing conjectures and errors.
When speaking about a living subject of law and order, Locke always means an isolated individual seeking private gain. And social life in general is depicted by him, first of all, as a network of exchange relations into which simple commodity owners, personally free owners of their forces and property, enter. The “state of nature,” as depicted in Locke's second treatise on government, is primarily a state of “fair” competition based on mutual recognition. Accordingly, “natural law” (the rule of community) is understood by Locke as a requirement of equal partnership.
Equality, as Locke interprets it, does not at all mean the natural uniformity of individuals and does not contain a request for their primitive equalization in abilities, strengths and property. We are talking about equality of opportunity and claims, its essence boils down to the fact that not one of the individuals, no matter how meager his natural wealth may be (his intellectual and physical strength, his skills and acquisitions), can be excluded from competition, rejected from free exchange of goods and services. Or: all people, regardless of their natural inequality, must once and for all be recognized as economically independent and subject to voluntary mutual use. The state must provide individuals with a certain legal, rather than economic and social equality.
Locke had very high hopes for law and legality. In the general law established by people, recognized by them and accepted by their common consent as a measure of good and evil to resolve all conflicts, he saw the first sign constituting the state. Law in the true sense is not any prescription emanating from civil society as a whole or from a legislative body established by people. Only that act which directs a rational being to conduct in accordance with its own interests and serves the common good has the title of law. If an order does not contain such a rule-instruction, it cannot be considered a law. In addition, the law must be characterized by permanence and long-term validity.
The “permanent laws” that Locke speaks of play the role of the original and fundamental (constitutional) legal source for legislation. And the duty of the legislator to be guided in his activities by the provisions of these “permanent laws” is an essential legal guarantee of the legality substantiated by Locke in general, especially the legality in legislative activity.
Freedom is a guarantee against arbitrariness; it is the basis of all other human rights, for, having lost freedom, a person puts his property, well-being, and life at risk. He no longer has the means to protect them.
Laws then contribute to the achievement of the “main and great goal” of the state when everyone knows them and everyone follows them. The high prestige of the law stems from the fact that, according to Locke, it is a decisive instrument for preserving and expanding individual freedom, which also guarantees the individual from the arbitrariness and despotic will of others. “Where there are no laws, there is no freedom.” D. Locke. Selected philosophical works. Moscow.1960.T.2.C. 34.
According to Locke, only an act of a legislative body formed by the people has the force of law. At the same time, Locke understands legality not only in the formal sense, that is, as compliance with laws approved in accordance with the rules. He believed that legislators themselves should not violate the laws of nature. The universality of civil law, including for everyone government authorities, stems from the fact that the law expresses the “will of society.” D. Locke. Selected philosophical works. Moscow. 1960.T.2.P.87.
Separation of powers.
Locke provides for a special constitutional mechanism that prevents the state from going beyond its powers, thereby becoming despotic. Its most important components are the principles of separation of power and legality. In order to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of the leadership, which would thereby have the opportunity to turn to its own benefit both the creation of laws and their implementation, Locke proposes not to combine the legislative and executive powers and to subordinate legislators to the action of the laws they themselves created, carried out by the executive power.
In addition to the legislative and executive, Locke identifies a federal branch of government, which represents the state as a whole in relations with other states.
Locke assigned supreme, but not absolute power to the legislative branch, and in the interests of the people it should be limited. Locke lists four main conditions limiting the legislative power:
- 1. The law must be equal for everyone, for rich and poor, for the favorite at court and for the peasant at the plow.
- 2. The law is not created to suppress people, but for their benefit.
- 3. Taxes cannot be increased without the consent of the people.
- 4. Legislators cannot entrust their functions to anyone.
Most likely, the wise philosopher was much more afraid of the transformation into tyranny of executive power, embodied in one person, than of parliament, consisting of many persons. The executive branch, Locke believes, is subordinate to the legislative branch. The chief executive must serve as the supreme executor of the law. When he himself breaks the law, he cannot claim the obedience of members of society, and turns into a private person without power and without will. The sovereignty of the people is higher than both parliament and the king.
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John Locke is an outstanding philosopher of the 17th century who had a significant influence on the formation of Western philosophy. Before Locke, Western philosophers based their views on the teachings of Plato and other idealists, according to which the immortal soul of man is a means of obtaining information directly from the Cosmos. Its presence allows a person to be born with a ready-made store of knowledge, and he no longer needed to study.
Locke's philosophy refuted both this idea and the very existence of an immortal soul.
Biography facts
John Locke was born in England in 1632. His parents adhered to Puritan views, which the future philosopher did not share. After graduating with honors from Westminster School, Locke became a teacher. While teaching students Greek and rhetoric, he himself continued to study, paying special attention to the natural sciences: biology, chemistry and medicine.
Locke was also interested in political and legal issues. The socio-economic situation in the country pushed him to join the opposition movement. Locke becomes a close friend of Lord Ashley Cooper - a relative of the king and the head of the opposition movement.
In an effort to take part in the reformation of society, he gives up his teaching career. Locke moves to Cooper's estate and, together with him and several nobles who shared their revolutionary views, prepares a palace coup.
The coup attempt becomes a turning point in Locke's biography. It turns out to be a failure, and Locke and Cooper are forced to flee to Holland. Here, over the next few years, he devoted all his time to the study of philosophy and wrote his best works.
Cognition as a result of the presence of consciousness
Locke believed that this is the unique ability of the human brain to perceive, remember and display reality. A newborn baby is a blank sheet of paper, which does not yet have impressions and consciousness. It will be formed throughout life, based on sensory images - impressions received through the senses.
Attention! According to Locke's ideas, every idea is a product of human thought, which appeared thanks to already existing things.
Basic qualities of things
Locke approached the creation of each theory from the position of assessing the qualities of things and phenomena. Every thing has primary and secondary qualities.
Primary qualities include objective data about a thing:
- form;
- density;
- size;
- quantity;
- ability to move.
These qualities are inherent in every object, and focusing on them, a person forms his impression of each thing.
Secondary qualities include impressions generated by the senses:
- vision;
- hearing;
- sensations.
Attention! When interacting with objects, people receive information about them thanks to images that arise from sensory impressions.
What is property
Locke adhered to the concept that property is the result of labor. And it belongs to the person who put in this work. So, if a person planted a garden on the land of a nobleman, then the collected fruits belong to him, and not to the owner of the land. A person should own only the property that he received through his labor. Therefore, property inequality is a natural phenomenon and cannot be eradicated.
Basic principles of cognition
Locke's theory of knowledge is based on the postulate: “There is nothing in the mind that was not previously in the senses.” It means that any knowledge is the result of perception, personal subjective experience.
According to the degree of obviousness, the philosopher divided knowledge into three types:
- initial - gives knowledge about one thing;
- demonstrative – allows you to build conclusions by comparing concepts;
- higher (intuitive) – evaluates the correspondence and inconsistency of concepts directly with the mind.
According to the ideas of John Locke, philosophy gives a person the opportunity to determine the purpose of all things and phenomena, to develop science and society.
Pedagogical principles of raising gentlemen
- Natural philosophy - it included exact and natural sciences.
- Practical art - includes philosophy, logic, rhetoric, political and social sciences.
- The doctrine of signs unites all linguistic sciences, new concepts and ideas.
According to Locke's theory about the impossibility of natural acquisition of knowledge through Space and the forces of nature, a person masters exact sciences only through teaching. Most people are not familiar with the basics of mathematics. They have to resort to intense mental work over a long period of time to master mathematical postulates. This approach is also true for mastering the natural sciences.
Reference! The thinker also believed that the concepts of morality and ethics are inherited. Therefore, people cannot learn norms of behavior and become full-fledged members of society outside the family.
The educational process must take into account the individual characteristics of the child. The task of the educator is to gradually teach the future gentleman all the necessary skills, which include mastering the entire range of sciences and norms of behavior in society. Locke advocated separate education for children from noble families and children of commoners. The latter had to study in specially created workers' schools.
Political Views
John Locke's political views were anti-absolute: he advocated a change in the current regime and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. In his opinion, freedom is the natural and normal state of the individual.
Locke rejected Hobbes' ideas about the “war of all against all” and believed that the original concept of private property was formed among people much earlier than the establishment of state power.
Trade and economic relations should be built on a simple scheme of exchange and equality: each person seeks his own benefit, produces a product and exchanges it for another. Forcible seizure of goods is a violation of the law.
Locke was the first thinker to take part in the creation of the founding act of state. He developed the text of the constitution for North Carolina, which in 1669 was approved and approved by members of the national assembly. Locke's ideas were innovative and forward-looking: flesh to today all North American constitutional practice is based on his teaching.
Individual rights in the state
Locke considered the main legal state to be three inalienable personal rights that every citizen has, regardless of his social status:
- for life;
- to freedom;
- on property.
The constitution of the state must be created with an eye on these rights and be a guarantor of the preservation and expansion of human freedom. Violation of the right to life is any attempt to enslave: forcibly coercing a person into any activity, appropriating his property.
Useful video
The video details Locke's philosophy:
Religious views
Locke was a strong supporter of the idea of separation of church and state. In his work "The Reasonableness of Christianity" he describes the need for religious tolerance. Every citizen (with the exception of atheists and Catholics) is guaranteed freedom of religion.
John Locke considers religion not the basis of morality, but a means of strengthening it. Ideally, a person should not be guided by church dogma, but should independently come to broad religious tolerance.