Locke

This latest addition to the Blackwell Great Minds series outlines the fundamental principles of Locke’s highly influential contributions to philosophy, paying special attention to his two major works, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and The Two Treatises of Government . Its aim is to give readers a solid understanding of one of the giants of western thought, who, with Descartes, set the terms of philosophical debate that remain live to this day, and whose refutation of divinely sanctioned patriarchal rule made him the most illustrious proponent of civil and political self–determination. This concise assessment of Locke’s philosophy discusses his opposition to innate ideas and principles; his positive theory of simple and complex ideas; his metaphysics of material substance, primary, and secondary qualities; and his notions of personal identity. It explains his views on free will and his theory of knowledge and belief, particularly as applied to the concept of skepticism about the external world and matters of religion. The author’s authoritative treatment also covers Locke’s ideas about morality and political philosophy, paying special attention to property, the social contract, and toleration.

Abbreviations Preface 1          Locke’s life                                                                                                      2          The nature and role of ideas                                                                          3          The negative project: against innatism                                                           4          The positive project: ideational empiricism                                                                 4.1       Simple ideas                                                                                                    4.2       Sensation and reflection                                                                                  4.3       Complex ideas                                                                                                  4.4       Abstract ideas                                                                                                  4.5       Challenges to ideational empiricism:                         the ideas of infinity and substratum                                                   5          Substances                                                                                                                  5.1       Body, matter, space, and vacuum                                                                   5.2       Spirit                                                                                                    6         Qualities                                                                                                           7         Mental operations                                                                                                        7.1       Actions and passions                                                                                        7.2       Will and willing                                                                                                  7.3       Voluntariness and involuntariness                                                                   7.4       Freedom, necessity and determination of the will                                            7.5       A problem for Locke’s theory of freedom and will determination           8          Relations                                                                                                                       8.1       Identity and diversity                                                                                       8.2       Moral relations                                                                                      9          Language                                                                                                                    9.1       Language and meaning                                                                                   9.2       The imperfections and abuses of language                                                     9.3       Nominal essence, real essence, and classification                               10        Knowledge and belief                                                                                                    10.1     The official account of knowledge                                                                     10.2     The degrees of knowledge                                                                               10.3     Anti–dogmatism and anti–skepticism                                                                 10.4     Faith and religious enthusiasm                                                             11        Moral philosophy                                                                                                           11.1     Morality and God’s will                                                                                      11.2     Natural law                                                                                                       11.3     Punishment and slavery                                                                                   11.4     Property                                                                                                           11.5     Family                                                                                                   12        Political philosophy                                                                                                       12.1     Political society                                                                                                 12.2     Legitimate rule                                                                                                 12.3     Varieties of illegitimate rule                                                                              12.4     Toleration      

Samuel C. Rickless is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, USA. He earned his Ph.D. in 1996 from the University of California, Los Angeles, before beginning his teaching career at Florida State University. The author of two books, Plato’s Forms in Transition: A Reading of the Parmenides (2007), and Berkeley’s Argument for Idealism (2013), Professor Rickless has published numerous scholarly articles on a variety of topics in the history of philosophy, writing on key figures including Plato, Descartes, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant, in addition to Locke. His research interests include normative ethics, constitutional law, and the philosophy of language.