English materialist philosophy of the period of the Restoration; developed a materialist theory of knowledge which opposed Descartes' "innate ideas" and declared experience to be the sole source of all ideas, - but via the influence of external objects on the sense organs (ideas of sensation) or alternatively through attention being directed to the activity of the soul (ideas of Reflection); developed theory of the State, including the proposition that people should change the social system if it does not provide people with the proper opportunity for education and development.
John Locke was an active participant in the political struggles of the Restoration, Whigs vs. Tories and Catholic vs. Protestant, eventually leading a compromise between the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy and to a relatively stable system of government in which Church was separated from the State and the monarchy placated the people and left the business of government largely to the Parliament.
On the Nature of Human Understanding was written in 1689, about the time Newton began his work on mechanics, providing an almost comprehensive mechanical view of the Universe, and in the wake of the Revolution of 1688, which removed the Catholic absolutist James II, and replaced him with William III, Prince of Orange, consolidating the bourgeois form of government established by the Restoration after the English Civil War.
Locke was philosopher, economist and political theorist, and his philosophical work was used in the pursuit of political struggles. He advocated the division of power between legislative, executive and "federative" powers. He advocated the right and obligation of the People to change the government, if it did not provide opportunities for education.
Locke developed a materialist theory of knowledge which opposed Descartes' "innate ideas" and declared experience to be the sole source of all ideas, via the influence of external objects on the sense organs (ideas of sensation) or alternatively through attention being directed to the activity of the soul (ideas of reflection).
Locke continues the line of empiricism developed by Bacon and Hobbes. Newton's mechanical philosophy and Locke's empiricism are the subject of Berkeley's idealist attack in Of the Principles of Human Knowledge, published in 1710.
John Locke was an active participant in the political struggles of the Restoration, Whigs vs. Tories and Catholic vs. Protestant, eventually leading a compromise between the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy and to a relatively stable system of government in which Church was separated from the State and the monarchy placated the people and left the business of government largely to the Parliament.
On the Nature of Human Understanding was written in 1689, about the time Newton began his work on mechanics, providing an almost comprehensive mechanical view of the Universe, and in the wake of the Revolution of 1688, which removed the Catholic absolutist James II, and replaced him with William III, Prince of Orange, consolidating the bourgeois form of government established by the Restoration after the English Civil War.
Locke was philosopher, economist and political theorist, and his philosophical work was used in the pursuit of political struggles. He advocated the division of power between legislative, executive and "federative" powers. He advocated the right and obligation of the People to change the government, if it did not provide opportunities for education.
Locke developed a materialist theory of knowledge which opposed Descartes' "innate ideas" and declared experience to be the sole source of all ideas, via the influence of external objects on the sense organs (ideas of sensation) or alternatively through attention being directed to the activity of the soul (ideas of reflection).
Locke continues the line of empiricism developed by Bacon and Hobbes. Newton's mechanical philosophy and Locke's empiricism are the subject of Berkeley's idealist attack in Of the Principles of Human Knowledge, published in 1710.
