...Revolution, England’s Parliament and Crown had rocky patches. Power was split unevenly between the monarch and the parliament. The Parliament had two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Lords were the clergy and the nobles and the Commons were everyone else. Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth Instrument of Government, John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, and the English Bill of Rights all have something to do on why England’s Parliament and Monarch work so well today. Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth Instrument of Government Cromwell’s Commonwealth Instrument of Government was a written constitution that Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector had written when he assumed office. It was a document that gave him executive power and gave the Parliament legislative power. By holding the executive power, Cromwell was able to deploy the military by both land and sea with the consent of the Parliament as well as the ability of being able to correspond with foreign royalty. In the Instrument of Government, the Lord Protector also states that the set laws “shall not be altered, suspended, abrogated, or repealed”....
Words: 546 - Pages: 3
...John Locke's contributions in Philosophy and political views are followed and practiced even to this day. Locke’s ideas influenced religion, economics, political change, theories of knowledge and the human understanding that led to governmental and social improvements. John Locke believed in political reform. John Locke is one of the most influential authors and political philosophers in history. His ideas and views have influenced such momentous commodity such as the American constitution. Many of Locke’s ideas were used in the creation of the United States Constitution. John Locke was a British philosopher and medical researcher. Locke was born to Agnes Keene and John Locke on August 29, 1632, in Somerset, England. His father was a Puritan lawyer, who served as a Captain during the English civil war. Locke’s schooling began at Westminster School in 1647. He earned the title of King’s Scholar, which prepared him for the next phase of his education at the Christ Church in Oxford in 1652. He studied literature, physical science, medicine, politics, and natural philosophy. In 1656 he continued for his Master of Arts degree. In 1665 at Oxford, Locke encountered Lord Ashley, a notable statesman looking for medical treatment. After a friendship formed, Ashley invited Locke to join him in London as his personal physician. Locke agreed and left for London in 1667, where he lived for the next eight years. This was the beginning of Locke’s deep political interests, which was...
Words: 2488 - Pages: 10
...“John Locke vs. Thomas Jefferson” John Locke's Second Treatise of Government and Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence are two of the most significant texts of all time. Many countries around the world have used these texts as the foundation for their declaration of independence. These authors laid the base for the knowledge of the State of Natural Rights of human being which is the establishing bases of our government. We can understand that The Second Treatise of Government and the Declaration of Independence are very identical in their message, which clearly substantiate Locke's work influenced Jefferson. Unpredictably as it is, Jefferson has been suspect over the times for plagiarizing John Locke. The most significant similarity between both writings is that they are strongly focused on the belief that all men are created equal and have the right to be happy in their life. Locke enlightens us that humans have natural rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of property. Jefferson restates this claim as absolute rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Simply both documents mention that no person is above or superior to another person and that everyone is equal. The natural law of man is not under the authority of man, but ruled by the Natural Laws. Also they state that those natural rights...
Words: 907 - Pages: 4
...JOHN LOCKE Summary The First Treatise is a criticism of Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha, which argues in support of the divine right of kings. According to Locke, Filmer cannot be correct because his theory holds that every man is born a slave to the natural born kings. Locke refuses to accept such a theory because of his belief in reason and in the ability of every man to virtuously govern himself according to God’s law. The Second Treatise is Locke’s proposed solution to the political upheaval in England and in other modern countries. This text laid the foundation for modern forms of democracy and for the Constitution of the United States. The Second Treatise consists of a short preface and nineteen chapters. In chapter i, Locke defines political power as the right to make laws for the protection and regulation of property. In his view, these laws only work because the people accept them and because they are for the public good. In chapter ii, Locke claims that all men are originally in a state of nature. A man in this original state is bound by the laws of nature, but he is otherwise able to live, act, and dispose of his possessions as he sees fit. More important, human beings, free from the arbitrary laws of other men, have an obligation to protect the interests of each other, since they are all equally children of God. They also have an obligation to punish those who go against God’s will and attempt to harm another by compromising his life, liberty, or possessions. In chapters...
Words: 1399 - Pages: 6
...Hobbes and John Locke Abstract The Social Contract theory which dominated the European political thought in the eighteen century has played a very important part in the development of the modern political theory and practice. Being the most important of all the speculative theories, it came into being as a result of reaction against the theory of the Divine Origin. This theory was the first to denounce the influence of the church in the state affairs, provided an explanation for the origin of the state and shows the relationship between those who governs and those who are governed. Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are the chief exponents of the Contract Theory. Both of them have established their thesis from the beginning of human habitation, though their ideas and opinions are quite distinct. Hobbes in his theory has only described one contract where Locke has described two. Thomas Hobbes’ “Leviathan” and John Locke’s “Two Treaties on Civil Government” these books are considered as bibles in the evolution of modern states system. Though there are criticisms and debates regarding the social contract theory, but the modern political theories today have evolved from these contract theories which has no doubt. The aim of this assignment is to compare and contrast between Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and explore their contribution in the development of international relations according to the analysis of their works. Introduction Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan and John Locke’s Two Treatises...
Words: 3749 - Pages: 15
...Review “Second Treatise of Government” in Chapter 6. Please respond to the following: John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government were written to defend armed resistance to the English king by English subjects in the years preceding the Whig revolution, the Glorious Revolution of 1689 (as it’s called). Involved in plots, Locke fled from England to Holland in 1683 and stayed there until 1689. The First Treatise is an attack on the theory of absolute monarchy defended by Sir Robert Filmer. The Filmer theory traces the rights of the monarch to the establishment of monarchical power in Adam (the first man of the Bible) by God. This absolute authority to rule then gets passed along down to the present king of England. So the king is answerable only to God and the subjects are obligated to obey the king’s commands come what may, says Filmer. * Explain what, according to Locke, gives a person their right to property. As stated in the textbook, " everyman has a property in his own Person. This nobody has any right to but himself. The labor of his body, and the work of his hands, we may say, are properly his. Whatsoever then he removes out of the state that nature hath provided, and left it in, he hath mixed his labor with, and joined to it something that is his own, and thereby makes it his property. It being by him removed from the common state nature placed it in, it hath by this labor something annexed to it, that excludes the common right of other men" (p.209, Halbert...
Words: 1223 - Pages: 5
...In Chapter 1, Locke first reiterates his arguments from the First Treatise against Sir Robert Filmer's writings. His points refute Filmer as follows: Adam was NOT given absolute authority over the world and his children by God Adam's heirs, therefore, did not have this authority No one can claim rights since it is impossible to identify Adam's heirs today. Locke aimed to refute Filmer's theory of the divine right of sovereignty. Locke finishes the chapter by noting that one must not confuse different types of power--paternal, familial, and political--for each has very different characteristics. He defines political power as the right to make laws for the protection and regulation of property; these laws are backed by the community, for the public good. Locke addresses the natural instincts of people, or the state of nature, in order to define political power. In Chapter 2, Locke explains the state of nature as a state of equality in which no one has power over another, and all are free to do as they please. He notes, however, that this liberty does not equal license to abuse others, and that natural law exists even in the state of nature. Each individual in the state of nature has the power to execute natural laws, which are universal. Locke then posits that proof of this natural law lies in the fact that, even though a person cannot reasonably be under the power of a foreign king, if a person commits a crime in a foreign country they can still be punished. Locke...
Words: 664 - Pages: 3
...John Locke - Biography John Locke (1632-1704) John Locke was born on August 29, 1632, in Warington, a village in Somerset, England. In 1646 he went to Westminster school, and in 1652 to Christ Church in Oxford. In 1659 he was elected to a senior studentship, and tutored at the college for a number of years. Still, contrary to the curriculum, he complained that he would rather be studying Descartes than Aristotle. In 1666 he declined an offer of preferment, although he thought at one time of taking up clerical work. In 1668 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1674 he finally graduated as a bachelor of medicine. In 1675 he was appointed to a medical studentship at the college. He owned a home in Oxford until 1684, until his studentship was taken from him by royal mandate. Locke's mentor was Robert Boyle, the leader of the Oxford scientific group. Boyle's mechanical philosophy saw the world as reducible to matter in motion. Locke learned about atomism and took the terms "primary and secondary qualities" from Boyle. Both Boyle and Locke, along with Newton, were members of the English Royal Society. Locke became friends with Newton in 1688 after he had studied Newton's Principia Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis. It was Locke's work with the Oxford scientists that gave him a critical perspective when reading Descartes. Locke admired Descartes as an alternative to the Aristotelianism dominant at Oxford. Descartes' "way of ideas" was a major influence on Locke's...
Words: 1196 - Pages: 5
...Christian Benjamin Mrs. Sauter History/ Block F 12/7/14 A Comparison of Social Contracts A social contract is a distinctive agreement among the members of a society to cooperate with one another to gain social benefits. There have been many social philosophers throughout history who have written about their opinion on how society should function within a successful government. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher who believed that the human race was corrupted from birth and that they were cruel, greedy and selfish. He also believed that people will fight, steal, and torment each other. He further believes that people must be ruled by an absolute monarchy and the surrounding governments must grant all power to the king. Another English philosopher,...
Words: 592 - Pages: 3
...period. However, one of these philosophers in particular shaped a founder’s ideas more directly than the rest. Ultimately, John Locke directly and greatly influenced Thomas Jefferson’s political philosophy and agreed with the majority of his beliefs, which can be seen especially in the Declaration of Independence and the fundamental ideas each man emphasizes in his works. While there are a few small differences in their works, they are still so similar that Jefferson has even been accused of plagiarizing parts of Locke’s compositions....
Words: 486 - Pages: 2
...To what extent was the government laid out in the American Constitution of 1787 unique? The government laid out in the constitution was both unique and not unique for its time. The constitution was not unique in that the majority of the ideas in the constitution were not original and came from other sources. The constitution was unique in that it was the first time that all the ideas used in the constitution were put together for a government. The constitution was unique in that it was the first government basis containing separation of powers, checks and balances, limited government, judicial review, federalism, and popular sovereignty; and that it was based off of the Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, the English Bill of Rights, and John Locke Second Treatise. The six main ideas used in the constitution, while mostly not original ideas this was the first time these six ideas were used in a basis of government. The constitution was not unique in that the ideas used in constructing the...
Words: 483 - Pages: 2
...necessary for preserving one's own life; and life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" (Leviathan, Chapters XIII-XIV). In short Hobbes believes is self-preservation, even if something was someonelse's, if you felt the need for it you had the right to fight for it and claim it as your own. Hobbes described this natural condition with the Latin phrase bellum omnium contra omnes (meaning war of all against all), in his work De Cive. Within the state of nature there is neither private property nor injustice since there is no law, except for certain natural precepts discovered by reason ("laws of nature"): the first of which is "that every man ought to endeavor peace, as far as he has hope of obtaining it" (Leviathan, Ch. XIV); and the second is "that a man be willing, when others are so too, as far forth as for peace and defense of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so much liberty against other men as he would allow other men against himself"(Leviathan, Ch XV). According to Hobbes the state of nature exists at all times among independent countries, over whom there is no law except for those same precepts or laws of nature (Leviathan, Chapters XIII, XXX end). His view of the state of nature helped to serve as a...
Words: 1452 - Pages: 6
...years; this essay will focus primarily on the workings of John Locke and Karl Marx. Both being raised in a different time, thus different upbringings have resulted in a difference in their train of thought and philosophical approaches on life. Karl Marx has been forced...
Words: 1999 - Pages: 8
...Man constantly seeks to explain the nature of his species in order to create a foundation on which a secure government that meets the welfare of the people can thrive. However, theories that attempt to establish this desired government may clash as one individual’s perspective may differ from his fellow community members. These differences in thought lead to the establishment of various forms of government that each stress a particular ideology. Niccolo Machiavelli, John Locke, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Engels ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬in their works entitled The Prince, The Second Treatise of Government, and the Communist Manifesto each interpret the nature of mankind as either untrustworthy, loyal, or innately ruthless, leading to the desire of different...
Words: 1989 - Pages: 8
...Social Contract Theory of John Locke Luca D. Iaria University of Phoenix CJA 532/ Ethics in Justice and Security Professor: Cyril Vierra January 25, 2015 John Locke was a British Philosopher born in 1632. His most famous written work was The second treatise of civil government (written in 1690). This book focused on the natural state of man and how government should be structured. Locke was a fan of man to say the least. Locke describes man in his writing’s as being inherently good natured. Locke goes on to explain that man in a state of nature is peaceful. Locke contested that man should challenge authority by using self reason to search for the truth. He said that man shouldn’t just expect the opinion of the authority or be subject to superstition. By man choosing to use reason he can then find the truth and challenge the legitimate functions of institutions hence optimizing human flourishing for the individual and the society. Locke explains that without the establishment of a common political authority, man will remain in a state of nature. This is a clear example of how Locke felt about man and how he viewed them as a whole. Lock stated “All men in their natural state are in a state of perfect freedom (Locke, 1690).” The positive side of Locke's anti-authoritarianism is that he believes that using reason to try to grasp the truth, and determining the legitimate functions of institutions will optimize human flourishing for the individual and society both in respect...
Words: 1278 - Pages: 6
