An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

Locke was born in Wrington, England, in 1632. The son of a lawyer, Locke followed in his father’s intellectual footsteps. The physician and philosopher played a significant role in the Enlightenment movement and laid the foundation for classical liberalism. Locke’s focus on the philosophy of the mind and knowledge had a profound influence on future philosophers and political theorists. He focused his attention on liberty, natural rights, the social contract, religious tolerance, and the right of revolution, contributing to the theories of empiricism and epistemology. His political writing continues to impact contemporary politics. The scientific community embraced Locke’s focus on empirical observation, and his theories on religious epistemology and religious freedom reflected the rationalistic approach of the Enlightenment. In short, Locke believed that what humans experience through the senses and through observation forms knowledge. Although Locke was Protestant, his views diverged from the fundamentalist principles popular during his lifetime. He advocated for religious freedom but also saw atheism as the exception to this liberty.

Locke attended the Westminster School in London in 1647 and Christ Church in Oxford in 1652. After obtaining a medical degree, he worked as a physician, which shaped his thinking about the mind and the acquisition of knowledge.