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- John Locke was born on August 29, 1632 in Wrington, Somerset, England
- Locke's family believed in Puritanism (strictness and austerity especially in matters of religion or conduct) but remained within the Church of England
- Raised in Pensford, a village in England
- Locke was 10 years old when the English Civil Wars started
- Locke's father was a lawyer and also served as a captain in the cavalry of the parliamentarians
- Locke learned at a young age to reject any claim by the king to have a right to rule
- The first Civil War ended in 1646 and Locke's father was able to finally obtain him

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- In 1647, Locke frequented Westminster School in London, England at the age of 14
- His school had recently been taken over by the new republican government but its headmaster (Richard Busby) was a royalist
- The curriculum was based on mainly Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, mathematic, and geography studies
- Locke was clearly a strong student but disliked his schooling experience
- At the surprisingly late age of 20, Locke entered Christ Church, the largest college at the University of Oxford
- He found the undergraduate program at Oxford "dull and unstimulating"
- In 1656, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s two years later, while also being elected a student (the equivalent of fellow) of Christ Church
- Locke associated himself with advocates of the new science, astronomers, architechs, physicians, physicists and most importantly, philosophers
- Medicine ended up playing a big role in Locke's career
- In 1663, he was appointed senior censor in Christ Church at Oxford

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- As a senior censor in Christ Church, Locke had to supervise the studies and discipline of undergraduates and even give a series of lectures to the students
- Locke spent his free time making early statements on his philosophical views (for example: Essays on the Law of Nature)
- Locke wished to portray his mature philosophy through writing, making reference to political theory and epistemology (the philosophical study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge)
- In 1666, Locke was introduced to Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper, later 1st earl of Shaftesbury
- In the first two decades after the Restoration, Ashley was one of the most powerful figures in England
- Ashley was so impressed with Locke that within a year, he asked Locke to join his London household in Exeter House in the Strand as his aide and personal physician
- Locke soon shared objectives with Ashley such as: standing for constitutional monarchy, a protestant succession, civil liberty, toleration in religion, the rule of Parliament, and the economic expansion of England
- Locke drafted papers on toleration for Ashley to use in speeches and even helped perform operations
- In, 1668 Locke became a fellow of the Royal Society conducting medical research with Thomas Sydenham, the most distinguished physician at the time
- In 1675, Locke traveled to France after receiving his degree of bachelor of medicine from Oxford and being appointed to a medical studentship at Christ Church

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Essential John Locke: Who was John Locke?

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1. Natural Law & Natural Rights:
- Natural law consists of moral truths that apply to all people, regardless of geography
- In Locke’s theory, divine law and natural law are may overlap in content, but they are not coextensive (over the same space or time)
- Locke’s theory of natural law is filled with contradictions (referring to religion, etc.)
- In the Two Treatises, Locke frequently states that the fundamental law of nature is that as much as possible mankind is to be preserved

2. State of Nature:
- According to Locke, the state of nature exists wherever there is no political authority able to judge disputes, where people live according to the law of reason
- He believed the state of nature is distinct from political society, where a government exists, and from a state of war where men fail to follow the law of reason
- Tied closely to his theory of natural law since it defines the rights of persons and their status as free and equal persons, which his state of nature also highlights

3. Property:
- Locke argued in support of individual property rights as natural rights
- He believed the benefits of one's labor are one's own because one worked for it
- The laborer must also hold a natural property right in the resource itself because exclusive ownership was immediately necessary for production

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4. Consent, Political Obligation, and the Ends of Government:
- Individuals in a state of nature where they are not subject to a common legitimate authority with the power to legislate or adjudicate disputes
- Locke pushes individual consent as the mechanism by which political societies are created and individuals join those societies
- In the Two Treatises, one can only become a full member of society by an act of express consent

5. Punishment:
- Locke defined political power as “a right of making laws with penalties of death, and consequently all less Penalties”
- His theory of punishment revolves around his view on politics and what he considered innovative about his political philosophy
- Locke believed that punishment requires that there must be a law, and since the state of nature has the law of nature to govern it, it is permissible to describe one individual as “punishing” another in that state
- Forward-looking rationales: deterring crime, protecting society from dangerous persons, and rehabilitation of criminals
- Backward-looking rationales: retribution and inflicting on the criminal harm comparable to the crime
-  Due to the law of nature, Locke thought it must be legitimate for individuals to punish each other even before government exists

6. Separation of Powers and the Dissolution of Government:
- In the Two Treatises, Locke described legislative power as supreme and always having authority over how commonwealth should be employed
- Locke confirms that only those who are superior to others may give them laws to follow but he also believes that it is possible for multiple institutions to share the same power
- Locke said powers relate to functions and that legislation is primarily about announcing a general rule stipulating what types of actions should receive what types of punishments
- The concept "appeal to heaven" is very important to Locke's philosophy because he thought that the best way to solve certain disputes is to let God judge what is right and who is right (between the government and the public)

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7. Toleration:
- Locke believed that no one should be forced to practice a certain religion and that religious societies are voluntary
- He argued that "the care of men’s souls has not been committed to the magistrate by either God or the consent of men"
- Locke also argued that the government holds power through force compared to true religion which consists of genuine persuasion of the mind
- His last argument was even if the magistrate could change people’s minds, and if everyone accepted the magistrate’s religion, it would not bring more people to the true religion

8. Education & Politics
- Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding highlights the importance of education in his political philosophy
- His book Some Thoughts Concerning Education explains that parents are encouraged to develop and increase the child’s love for praise and esteem
- Locke told parents to closely monitor their child's school environment to avoid the wrong ideas and influences being pushed onto them
- Locke strived for a liberal education with limitless freedom in order to allow the children to form their own beliefs and morals

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- The influence of his written pieces has been enormous
- The Two Treatises was read internationally after being published
- Locke's ideas were seen as a dominant influence on the American and French revolutions and the radical liberals in England
- Locke emphasized the concept that no man was made for another man's benefit, which has influenced today's laws in freedom and independence
- He determined that men were created free and equal and in today's society, we are still learning to treat everyone equally whether it be race, gender, etc.

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- Locke thought it was important that the government did not push morals and ideals on citizens
- Especially regarding religion, Locke longed for a society in which everyone was allowed to decide what they believed in
- Today, according to law, every Canadian is able to practice whatever religion they wish and express themselves however they want
- Thanks to Locke's efforts in promoting the importance of freedom, we are all now able to determine our own morals and values which is extremely crucial in our modern society

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- Locke claimed that the duty of a legitimate government is to protect the natural rights of citizens
- These rights consisted of life, liberty and property
- Due to this ideology, we now allow the government to control our country and trust it to ensure our rights are protected and will not be violated in any way
- Locke believed if our rights were somehow failed to be protected, the population should overthrow the government
- It is unlikely that a situation like this would arise
- However, Locke could have possibly predicted it centuries ago