John Locke and His Philosophical Beliefs - Essay Example

Essay John Locke was an acclaimed British philosopher who was born in 1632 to Puritan parents. He lived through a century that witnessed the abolishment and subsequent return of the monarchy to power and also the establishment of the House of Lords and Anglican Church. Locke’s father was a lawyer and it was with the aid of his commander Locke was able to gain education in some the prestigious schools and colleges. While his initial education was in Westminster school where he was a King’s scholar, and thus had the privilege of living within the campus together with a stipend for his education. He later procured a degree in B.A in logic, metaphysics and classical languages from the Christ Church College at Oxford. This was the period when experimental philosophy gained momentum. This program was a contrast to Aristotelian views and its principle was that nature could teach a person a lot more than books. Many people who adopted this philosophy were those studying medicine and Locke’s association with such men introduced him to the field of medicine and later on after he qualified as Mater of Arts and his election as Lecturer in Rhetoric at the same college, Locke decided to become a doctor (Uzgalis, 2007). His association with many of the great scholars and scientists during that period such as Boyle and Descartes left a great influence on Locke which is reflected in his masterpiece works, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and The Two Treatises of Government. While the former work dealt with the limits of human understanding, the later was more of a revolutionary and political theory. It is in the Second Treatise of Government, which is more significant of the two, that Locke explains the concept of natural rights of an individual (Uzgalis, 2007; Locke on Natural Rights). In the Second Treatise, Locke explains that mankind was created by God and he endowed humans with the natural ability to understand and act consciously. This is quite in contrast to Hobbes view, who first proposed his philosophy on the laws of nature, which was based on prudence and rational thinking and believed that humans derive their moral behavior from the society. Hobbes believed that all our moral behavior is acquired from the society that each of us live. In other words humans acquire various virtues through the development of civilization. Locke’s theory states that mankind was created by God and the sole purpose in every human being’s life is to survive against all odds in this world. In order to achieve this goal all humans are naturally bestowed with certain rights such as the right to live, health, freedom and property, which serve as means to achieve the goal set by God (Uzgalis, 2007; Locke on Natural Rights). In addition Locke believes that humans merely follow the natural law that has been scripted by God and they themselves can discover this universal truth through rational reasoning. They must be fair and just while exercising their divinely granted rights in order to preserve and propagate their species and to procure goods that are need for their survival (Human Rights). Locke also states that according to the natural law, humans need to respect the rights of another person and that it must be borne in mind that these rights have been bestowed upon us by God himself and hence every human being irrespective of their religion and creed are in possession of these rights. Thus according to the natural law every human is equal and nobody is submissive to another person (Locke on Natural Rights; Human Rights). On further explaining the natural rights, Locke states that the right to live includes abstaining from acts such as killing and suicide as we do not have the right to do both. If a life could be saved instead it would be a noble action. The right to freedom is about being allowed to do what we feel is righteous without interfering in other’s activities. The right to property entails us to buy things which are not owned by anyone else, and to protect all our property from being stolen or forcefully seized. If an individual desires to acquire any unowned property he must first put his labor to improve the state of the property. Only then can he justify his acquisition. Additionally Locke also adds that one must not acquire property more than what he can handle as the extra property can be of use to someone else rather than remaining unused (Locke on Natural Rights). It is this concept of natural rights conceived by Locke that has sowed the seeds for the contemporary human rights (Locke on Natural Rights). Locke believed that every human being is in possession of the natural rights. Hence there is no difference between the two concepts of natural and human rights as the later is simply a modern adaptation of the natural rights concept. According to Locke all these rights are already present in nature even before any kind of civil government came into existence. And he firmly believes that upholding and protecting the human rights of an individual should be an important of any government through out the world. As when people choose to live in a civil society they must not be pressed to forgo their natural rights and adopt those put forward by the government (Locke on Natural Rights). It must be borne in mind that a civil society developed as a result of violation of natural laws and with the accused getting away without being punished due to absence of an authority to grant punishment. In other words, just being in a state of nature had several disadvantages and lacked the efficiency to effectively govern the lives of humans, which led to the establishment of the more efficient and convenient civil society. When punishment is granted by the victim’s family or friends it might not be objective or effective enough to punish the perpetrator. While Locke believes that a person who has committed a crime should be punished, he however, pleas that the punishment accorded should be proportionate to the crime. In other words, legitimate actions should be carried out by the government and both justice and punishment provided without interfering with or disturbing the natural rights of individuals (Uzgalis, 2007; Locke on Natural Rights; Human Rights). The concept of governance was introduced by Hobbes who explained it in terms of the social contract theory. According to his theory he wanted people to come under the governance of a sovereign which would in turn offer them protection and security. Locke differed from this view as he envisioned that the people in a society will be governed by a majority body which will frame rules and enact it. All the laws passed by this majority should be within the helms of the law of nature and should in no instance violate them. It is here that Locke explains that if human rights are to substitute natural rights they must be in adherence to the natural law and any deviation from the same will result in a state of war (Locke on Natural Rights). Locke also states that along with the rights nature also has bestowed duties that need to be fulfilled by every human being and these include not interfering in the lives and liberty of others and acquiring only sufficient property and money required for living a happy life. When people fully understand that they are living in a state of nature, they would exercise their rights and perform their duties more diligently, which in turn will result in a peaceful and contended society. Locke firmly believes that if those in power deny individuals the freedom to exercise their rights, it will only lead to a state of war between the government and society. This would lead to revolt by those who feel that they are being refrained from using their natural rights. While it might appear than Locke is justifying revolution, according to him it is the duty of every citizen to protect and retain their rights and not allow anyone to forcefully take their property or restrict their liberty (Uzgalis, 2007; Locke on Natural Rights; Human Rights). Locke also adds that along with the rights mentioned above humans must also be given the right to migrate in case they do not wish to continue in a particular society. People should be forced to consent to stay in a society and the option of migrating must always be available (Locke on Natural Rights). Thus in conclusion, Locke believed in living in a state of nature where the natural rights of every individual was respected and it was used to create a peaceful and contended society. He believed humans had an inherent moral understanding of the state of nature and if governed in the right manner by a civil society a state of war can always be averted. References 1. Uzgalis, W. (2007). John Locke. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved November 25, 2009, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/ 2. Locke on Natural Rights the Legitimacy of Government. Lecture Notes. 3. Human Rights- The Classic Theories: Hobbes and Locke. Retrieved November 25, 2009, from http://science.jrank.org/pages/9663/Human-Rights-Classic-Theories-Hobbes-Locke.html Read More