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About John Locke
John Locke FRS was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the “father of liberalism”.Â
Born: 29 August 1632, Wrington, United Kingdom
Died: 28 October 1704, High Laver, United Kingdom
100 Top Quotes by John Locke in English
- “All men are liable to error; and most men are, in many points, by passion or interest, under temptation to it.”
- “The only defense against the world is a thorough knowledge of it.”
- “It is one thing to show a man that he is in error, and another to put him in possession of the truth.”
- “Our business here is not to know all things, but those which concern our conduct.”
- “New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.”
- “The discipline of desire is the background of character.”
- “A sound mind in a sound body, is a short but full description of a happy state in this world.”
- “Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.”
- “All wealth is the product of labor.”
- “The improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our own increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others.”
- “I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.”
- “To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust.”
- “The only way whereby anyone divests himself of his natural liberty, and puts on the bonds of civil society, is by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community.”
- “No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.”
- “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.”
- “The reason why men enter into society is the preservation of their property.”
- “A sound mind in a sound body, is a short but full description of a happy state in this world.”
- “The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.”
- “What worries you, masters you.”
- “The dread of evil is a much more forcible principle of human actions than the prospect of good.”
- “Where there is no property, there is no injustice.”
- “I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.”
- “All men by nature are equal in that equal right that every man hath to his natural freedom, without being subjected to the will or authority of any other man.”
- “The Bible is one of the greatest blessings bestowed by God on the children of men.”
- “Man’s happiness consists in the enjoyment of his rights, and not in the acquisition of possessions.”
- “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.”
- “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.”
- “The foundation of morality should not be made dependent on myth nor tied to any authority lest doubt about the myth or about the legitimacy of the authority imperil the foundation of sound judgment and action.”
- “Fortitude is the guard and support of the other virtues.”
- “Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him.”
- “It is one thing to show a man that he is in error, and another to put him in possession of truth.”
- “Nature never makes excellent things, for mean or no uses: and it is hardly to be conceived, that our infinitely wise Creator, should make so admirable a faculty, as the power of thinking, that faculty which comes nearest the excellency of his own incomprehensible being, to be so idlely and uselessly employed, at least a fourth part of its time here, as to think nothing at all.”
- “The improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our own increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others.”
- “All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.”
- “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.”
- “Men being, as has been said, by nature, all free, equal and independent, no one can be put out of this estate, and subjected to the political power of another, without his own consent.”
- “The discipline of desire is the background of character.”
- “All wealth is the product of labor.”
- “To love truth for truth’s sake is the principal part of human perfection in this world, and the seed-plot of all other virtues.”
- “He that uses his words loosely and unsteadily will either not be minded or not understood.”
- “The great question which, in all ages, has disturbed mankind, and brought on them the greatest part of their mischiefs, has been—not whether there be power in the world, nor whence it came, but who should have it.”
- “The reason why men enter into society is the preservation of their property.”
- “All men by nature are equal in that equal right that every man hath to his natural freedom, without being subjected to the will or authority of any other man.”
- “The only way whereby anyone divests himself of his natural liberty, and puts on the bonds of civil society, is by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community.”
- “Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain.”
- “The power of the legislative, being derived from the people by a positive voluntary grant and institution, can be no other than what that positive grant conveyed, which being only to make laws, and not to make legislators, the legislative can have no power to transfer their authority of making laws, and place it in other hands.”
- “The Bible is one of the greatest blessings bestowed by God on the children of men. It has God for its author; salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture for its matter. It is all pure.”
- “The dread of evil is a much more forcible principle of human actions than the prospect of good.”
- “No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.”
- “The only defense against the world is a thorough knowledge of it.”
- “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.”
- “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.”
- “All men are liable to error; and most men are, in many points, by passion or interest, under temptation to it.”
- “To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust.”
- “Our business here is not to know all things, but those which concern our conduct.”
- “New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.”
- “The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.”
- “Where there is no property, there is no injustice.”
- “Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.”
- “All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.”
- “The discipline of desire is the background of character.”
- “Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him.”
- “It is one thing to show a man that he is in error, and another to put him in possession of the truth.”
- “Fortitude is the guard and support of the other virtues.”
- “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.”
- “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.”
- “The reason why men enter into society is the preservation of their property.”
- “Men being, as has been said, by nature, all free, equal and independent, no one can be put out of this estate, and subjected to the political power of another, without his own consent.”
- “All men by nature are equal in that equal right that every man hath to his natural freedom, without being subjected to the will or authority of any other man.”
- “The only way whereby anyone divests himself of his natural liberty, and puts on the bonds of civil society, is by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community.”
FAQs:
Who was John Locke?
John Locke (1632-1704) was an English philosopher and physician who is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment period.
What were John Locke’s major ideas?
Locke’s major ideas included the concept of tabula rasa (the idea that individuals are born without innate knowledge or ideas), the importance of individual rights and freedoms, the idea of government by consent of the governed, and the separation of powers.
What is tabula rasa?
Tabula rasa is a Latin term meaning “blank slate.” According to Locke’s philosophy, individuals are born without innate knowledge or ideas and acquire all of their knowledge and ideas through experience.
What is Locke’s theory of natural rights?
Locke’s theory of natural rights holds that individuals have certain inherent rights that cannot be taken away by governments or other individuals. These rights include life, liberty, and property.
What is Locke’s social contract theory?
Locke’s social contract theory posits that individuals give up some of their natural rights in order to form a government that will protect their remaining rights. The government’s power is therefore derived from the consent of the governed.
What is Locke’s theory of property?
Locke believed that individuals have a natural right to acquire property through their own labor. He also believed that governments have a responsibility to protect individuals’ property rights.
What is Locke’s theory of education?
Locke believed that education should be based on the individual needs and abilities of the student. He also believed that education should be focused on developing critical thinking skills.
How did Locke influence the United States?
Locke’s ideas on natural rights, the social contract, and the role of government had a significant influence on the founding of the United States. The Declaration of Independence, for example, includes language that is clearly influenced by Locke’s philosophy.
How did Locke influence other philosophers?
Locke’s ideas had a significant influence on many other philosophers, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and Adam Smith.
What is Locke’s legacy?
Locke’s legacy includes his contributions to political philosophy, epistemology, and education. His ideas have influenced many aspects of modern Western culture, including the development of democratic governments and the concept of individual rights and freedoms.
