In a focused assessment of one of the founding members of the liberal tradition in philosophy and a self-proclaimed “Under-Labourer” working to support the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century, the author maps the full range of John Locke’s highly influential ideas, which even today remain at the heart of debates about the nature of reality and our knowledge of it, as well as our moral and political rights and duties.

• Comprehensive introduction to the full range of Locke’s ideas, providing an up-to-date account that acknowledges issues raised by recent scholarship over the past decade
• A well-rounded perspective on one of the intellectual giants of the western philosophical tradition
• Provides detailed coverage of Locke’s two key works, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and The Two Treatises of Government.
• A sophisticated analysis by a highly respected academic
• A vital addition to the Blackwell Great Minds series

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.

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