Who made the greatest contribution in the age of enlightenment John Locke (1632-1704) - Book Report/Review Example

of the of the Concerned 4 February John Locke (1632-1704) The Age of Enlightenment was an era in the 18th century that touched almost all the facets of Western civilization that are economic, religious, social, cultural and political. In that context there comes to mind the name of a hoard of luminaries like Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Leibniz, Benjamin Franklin, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, James Cook, James Boswell and Thomas Jefferson. However, the individual that personified the quintessential spirit of the Age of Enlightenment, which vehemently questioned the established morals, customs and traditions and worshipped logic and rationality, is John Locke.

John Locke made a significant contribution to the essential bulwarks of Western civilization that are politics, religion and economics (Spielvogel 51). He forwarded the empiricist temperament enunciated by Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes. Locke analyzed the basics of relationship between the state and the individual and brought in an element of liberality and tolerance in the politics of his times. Locke’s political ideas had distinct reverberations in the following eras and ages. Locke built on the idea of money, an entity that allowed for wealth accumulation without the wastage of assets and property.

He also laid the foundations of the supply and demand theory in a way. Locke’s monetary thoughts are as much relevant today as they were in his times. He systematically explored the realms of ‘self’ and redefined the concept of ‘consciousness’. Locke supported tolerance and coexistence in the realm of religion. He was certainly a man who was way ahead of his times and who made a significant and long lasting contribution to the essentials of Western civilization. Works Cited Spielvogel, Jackson J.

Western Civilization (6th ed.). Wadsworth Publishing: New York, 2005.