Locke (Oneworld Thinkers) by Edward Feser

by Edward Feser

The philosophy of John Locke has dramatically shaped the way we live today. He is quoted in the Declaration of Independence and has had a lasting influence on many of our political systems, shaping our ideas on rights, government by consent, religious toleration, psychology and empirical science. Thought by many to be the quintessential philosopher of the modern age, his ideas are the key to understanding society and politics in the West. In this accessible introduction, Edward Feser explores Locke in historical context as well as his lasting influence, and looks critically at his legacy. In this, the author argues, we find the origins of many of the conflicts that dominate modern Western social and political life.

Genres: Philosophy, History

Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Edward Feser is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. He has been a Visiting Assistant Professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and a Visiting Scholar at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of California at Santa Barbara, an M.A. in religion from the Claremont Graduate School, and a B.A. in philosophy and religious studies from the California State University at Fullerton.

Called by National Review “one of the best contemporary writers on philosophy,” Feser is the author of On Nozick, Philosophy of Mind, Locke, The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism, and Aquinas, and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Hayek and Aristotle on Method and Metaphysics. He is also the author of many academic articles. His primary academic research interests are in the philosophy of mind, moral and political philosophy, and the philosophy of religion.

Feser also writes on politics and culture, from a conservative point of view; and on religion, from a traditional Roman Catholic perspective. In this connection, his work has appeared in such publications as The American, The American Conservative, City Journal, The Claremont Review of Books, Crisis, First Things, Liberty, National Review, New Oxford Review, Public Discourse, Reason, and TCS Daily.

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and six children.

Reviews

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the leading Thomist thinkers today, Edward Feser, gives a fine outline of key Lockean ideas and the tensions within Locke’s own thought. The book is concise and well-written. We will begin with a survey of medieval scholastic thought, for this is Locke’s foil.

Locke in Context: The Scholastic Tradition

Aristotle
Form. the organizational structure of a thing. It is not reducible to the sum of its parts. For Aristotle it exists “in” the thing or at least gives structure to it.
Substance: it is an independently existing thing. Its attributes or accidents cannot exist apart from it.
Distinction between per se cause and per accidens.
Per se: essentially ordered causal series. Each member in the series is dependent on the ones higher up in the series. A man pushes a stick; the stick the stone, etc.
Per accidens: accidentally ordered causal series.
The human soul is a subsistent form, not a substantial one. It survives and is immortal, but not quite. It still looks forward to getting its body again.
Essence = substantial form

Thomas Aquinas
Right (jus). It is a right ordering in a social context. It is objective. It wasn’t originally thought of as a moral claim inhering *in* a subject.

Key idea: Locke held many similar aims with the scholastics: both sought to prove the existence of God, personal immortality, and natural rights. On the other hand, Locke rejects almost all of the key scholastic terms such as essence, quality, causation, etc.

Modernity

Whereas the scholastics saw the soul as an aspect of the person, Descartes saw it as its own substance.

Secondary qualities:
Texture
Color
Taste
Odor

Primary qualities:
Shape
Size
Divisiblity
Motion

The Essay Concerning Human Understanding

Against innate ideas. An idea is the object of understanding (Locke E.2.1.2). All our ideas come from sensation or reflection (our observing mental images).

A simple idea is one that has a uniform appearance. A complex idea is composed of simple ideas.

Locke’s substance: combination of simple ideas representing a particular thing capable of subsisting by itself. A mode is something that cannot subsist by itself. Locke held to a “substratum” underlying all our ideas (E. 2.23.1ff). Locke understands there to be both real essences and nominal essences (i.e., complex ideas). A real essence is the internal constitution of a thing (E 3.3.15).

Problem for post-Lockean nominalists: there are mind-independent cases of “resemblances” between entities. Resemblance is a universal. Two particulars agree because they have a “property” in common. The German mathematician Gottlob Frege delivers the killing blow: if the meaning of our words were identical to subjective entities like ideas, which only we can access, then communication is impossible.

The Second Treatise of Government

Law of Nature. Principle of self-ownership: nobody has a right to but himself. This is Locke’s famous view of “self-ownership.” It’s not entirely the same as what modern libertarians teach. We don’t have the right to suicide, for that would violate God’s own property-rights. Similar arguments could be made against prostitution, pornography, and illicit sex (and other libertarian talking points).

The problem: given Locke’s strict conditions for knowledge, are there any knowable sanctions for non-compliance with the law of nature? Another problem is that in “Toleration” and “Second Treatise” Locke seems to see humans as having identifiable natures. His “Essay” rules out such a claim (E 3.6.37).

[Jonathan Ammon · Rating 2 out of 5]

An overly contentious introduction to Locke. As much or more space is given to rebutting Locke than explaining and presenting Locke’s ideas. Feser also seems to have a keen eye on current events. Some will be delighted with this kind of introduction to Locke, but I was interested in something more neutral.

[Ken Parsell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, clear and concise, Edward Feser provides an excellent introduction to the philosophy of John Locke. While contrasting the enormous impact Locke's ideas have had on the modern world, the book nonetheless reveals the many shortcomings and contradictions contained in his philosophical paradigm.

[David Selsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book by Dr. Feser. One of the things that makes Dr. Feser's books so good is how clearly he writes. I think the only word I've had to look up that he's used is "otiose." This speaks to how good he is at taking challenging material and presenting it clearly. There's no getting around that some of the material in this book is difficult, but Feser writes with an approachable vocabulary and in strong sentences constructed and balanced well.

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really struggled with the first chapter on Locke's philosophical thought. The rest of the book was much easier to digest and very fascinating.

[Landon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feser does a nice job of explaining John Locke's views in terms of the overall context in which he was writing. The first two chapters and the last chapter are primarily aimed at this goal. Chapter two is especially beneficial in this regard because Locke was partly reacting to the Scholastic tradition of the Middle Ages, and Feser gives a nice capsule summary of the views that were held by people in that tradition.

The other three chapters in the book discuss Locke's writings. For the most part, each of the three chapters deals with a famous book by Locke. So there's one (long) chapter on his "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding," which is pretty good, but needs to be read slowly in order to appreciate the philosophical views that Locke accepted. Then there's a chapter on Locke's "Two Treatises of Government" (mostly focusing on the famous second treatise), which is the main reason I read the book in the first place. Feser does a nice job of distilling the main points and raising and discussing problems for Locke's views. Then there is a shorter chapter on "A Letter Concerning Toleration," which is where Locke defended religious toleration (and separation of church and state) from basically a generic Protestant perspective. Mostly, he was critical of the intolerance of the Catholic Church regarding religious freedoms.

Overall, I'd recommend this book if you want to get a good summary of Locke's philosophical views and his contribution to the modern world. (His political contributions alone are worthy of study, as they greatly influenced the American Revolution and eventual founding of the United States of America.)

[Charles Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this a great survey of Locke but of the prevailing Lockean mindset of western civilization, especially the USA. Feser's theory on the inspiration behind Locke's empiricism is probably the most noteworthy. Fear of monarchs (rationalism) and the pope (scholasticism) was the fundamental purpose behind seating scientific inquiry on the throne above all other earthly authorities. Somehow Locke believed this would be the antidote for tyranny of all kinds. However incomplete or insufficient Locke's metaphysical, epistemic and political philosophy, he turned out to be the most influential thinker in a millenium.

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a critical discussion of John Locke's philosophy. Feser makes it clear that he disagrees with many aspects of Locke's philosophy - event while being sympathetic with many of his conclusions - but provides good reasons for why he does so. Feser's basic argument is that Locke's interpretation of empiricism does not provide a sound basis for many of his (Locke's) philosophical conclusions. This book should be read up against other studies of Locke's philosophy that are more admiring. That way the student of Locke can see the strengths and weaknesses of Locke's philosophy.