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Q: John Locke and his views of human nature and goverment. ( Answered,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: John Locke and his views of human nature and goverment.
Category: Miscellaneous
Asked by: jbone26-ga
List Price: $35.00
Posted: 05 Feb 2005 10:42 PST
Expires: 07 Mar 2005 10:42 PST
Question ID: 469502
1.What did locke mean by man being born with a "Tabula Rasa"? How did
this view differ from previous views of how knowledge is obtained? 2.
What did Locke mean by his theory of the "social Contact"?  What two
parties were a part of this "Contact"? 3. What were Lockes views of
the goverment?  Specifically, where did goverment get its power? How
was this view diffrent than previous views? 4 Define what historians
mean by " The Enlightment". How were Locke's views part of the
Enlightment? 5.In Locke's view, what recourse do people have if the
goverment becomes tyrannical?
Answer  
Subject: Re: John Locke and his views of human nature and goverment.
Answered By: wonko-ga on 05 Feb 2005 13:45 PST
 
By "tabula rasa," John Locke was referring to his belief that all
ideas come from experience.  "There are no innate ideas 'stamped upon
the mind' from birth...."  Traditional thinking held that the human
mind had innate ideas that it was born with in order to account for
certain knowledge believed to be universal.  His empiricism is what
made him a figure of the Enlightenment and a forerunner of the
scientific process.

Locke viewed government as not being a natural state, but as being
necessitated by the need for enforcement of moral law, with men
delegating their equal rights to punish transgressors to certain
officers comprising a government.  This arrangement he called a
"social contract" between the governed and the government, with the
government having limited powers involving reciprocal obligations
conferred by the people, who maintained authority to modify or rescind
them.  As a result, the powers of a tyrannical government could be
changed or taken away entirely and replaced with a new government.
This contrasted tremendously with the prevailing doctrine of the
divine and absolute right of kings, whose power was invested by God
and could not be limited or changed by anyone.

"John Locke (1632-1704)" The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://www.iep.utm.edu/l/locke.htm

"John Locke" Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/#3.3

"Our story has its being in the beginning of the Enlightenment, the
Age of Reason, a time of our intellectual awakening. The Enlightenment
began when the Dark Ages ended, a time when the minds of men were
cowed by the great mystery of the universe and their minds, through
ignorance, were ruled by fears. The Enlightenment was a time when man,
stepping out of his shackles, began to use his rational facilities and
pulled himself out of the medieval pits of mysticism and in the
process shoved aside the state and church authorities of the day. It
was a spontaneous and defused movement which fed upon itself and led
to the great scientific discoveries from which we all benefit today.
Beliefs in natural law and universal order sprung up, which not only
promoted scientific findings and advancements of a material nature,
but which also gave a scientific approach to political and social
issues."

"John Locke (1632-1704): The Philosopher of Freedom" Biographies
http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Philosophy/Locke.htm

"Empiricism:
§ To an empiricist, all validity in knowledge must be a result of
experience. Locke, Bacon and Hume were empiricists. An empiricist is
one who subscribes to the notion that knowledge comes to us through
experience. There is no such thing as innate ideas; there is no such
thing as moral precepts; we are born with an empty mind, a soft tablet
ready to be writ upon by experimental impressions. Thus, empiricism
opposes the rationalist belief in the existence of innate ideas. A
doctrine basic to the scientific method. Certain philosophers would
call themselves empiricists though claiming that there are certain a
priori truths (e.g., principles of mathematics and logic); but, it is
better thought (see John Stuart Mill ) that even the most sacred "a
priori truths" are generalizations deduced from experience.
An empiricist, incidently, is not to be confused with a skeptic or a cynic."

"Empiricism" A Blupete Essay
http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Essays/BluePete/Phil.htm#Empiricism

Sincerely,

Wonko

Request for Answer Clarification by jbone26-ga on 06 Feb 2005 08:28 PST
For questions 2 and 5.....where are the answers?

Clarification of Answer by wonko-ga on 06 Feb 2005 11:19 PST
Questions 2 & 5 are answered in the second paragraph of my answer. 
You mean "social contract," not "social contact" in the context of
Locke.  The governed have the right to rebel against and overthrow a
tyrannical government.

I apologize they were not clear.

Sincerely,

Wonko

Request for Answer Clarification by jbone26-ga on 07 Feb 2005 07:17 PST
please forgive me for being stupid if thats the case. Question 3 does
not appear to be fully answered and number 5. sorry for bugging you.
Thanks for your time

Clarification of Answer by wonko-ga on 07 Feb 2005 09:51 PST
Not a problem.  Government derives its power from a social contract
between the governed and the government.  Essentially, the government
serves with the consent of the governed, which therefore makes it
morally acceptable for the governed to overthrow the government and
replace it with a new government in the event the government becomes
tyrannical.  This was in marked contrast to the traditional view that
a monarchy was established by God, thereby making the king the supreme
earthly power.  For the governed to consider overthrowing the king
would be an immoral act in this view.  In contrast, John Locke
believed even regicide to be acceptable in extreme cases.

I hope this clarifies Mr. Locke's use for you.  I apologize for any
confusion resulting from my answer.

Sincerely,

Wonko
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