John Locke is the father of not only modern empiricism, but also materialism. His philosophy of the theory of knowledge consists in the development of two main thoughts, of which the first is the denial of man's innate ideas, and the second is the assertion that the source of all our knowledge is experience.

Many, says Locke, are of the opinion that there are innate ideas, arising in the soul at the very moment of its inception. It (the soul) seems to bring these ideas with it into the world. The innateness of ideas is proven by the fact that they are something common, unconditional for everyone without exception. If the latter really took place, then the commonality of ideas would not serve as proof of their innateness. But we do not even see unconditional commonality, any ideas, either in theory or in practice. We will not find a single rule of morality that would exist among all peoples at all times. Children and idiots often have no idea about the simplest axioms. All this speaks against the innateness of ideas. We come to the knowledge of the simplest truths through reasoning, but they by no means precede reasoning. Our initial knowledge does not consist of general provisions, but of individual impressions of a particular nature. A child distinguishes bitter from sweet, dark from light, and so on. When the mind or soul comes into being, it represents a white sheet of paper, empty space, and so on. After all this, the question is inevitable: where do our ideas come from? Undoubtedly, we receive them from experience, which, therefore, determines all our knowledge and all its most general laws. Our experience is of two origins: we perceive the external world either through our senses (that is, sensations), or through consciousness of the internal activity of our soul, that is, by reasoning (reflection). Sensation and reasoning give our mind all ideas.

Locke set himself the task of understanding the origin of ideas from these two sources. He distinguishes between simple and complex ideas (conceptions). He calls simple ideas the reflections of reality in our soul, as in a mirror. For the most part we receive simple ideas or ideas through one sense, for example, the idea of ​​color is given to us by sight, the idea of ​​hardness by touch, but these also partly include ideas that are the result of the activity of several senses: these are the ideas of extension and motion obtained by the aid of touch and vision. Among simple ideas or representations we also find those that owe their origin exclusively to the activity of the understanding - this is the idea of ​​will. Finally, ideas can also be created by the joint activity of the senses and reflection - these are the concepts of force, unit, sequence.

All these simplest ideas taken together constitute the alphabet of our knowledge. Various combinations of sounds and words create language. In the same way, our mind, connecting ideas with each other in various ways, creates complex ideas.

Locke divides complex ideas into three classes: ideas of changes (modes), ideas of essences (substances) and ideas of relations. By the first, Locke means a change in space (distance, measurement, immeasurability, surface of a figure, etc.), time (duration, eternity), the process of thinking (impression, perception, memory, ability to abstract, etc.).

Locke's main attention is paid to the concept of essence. He explains the origin of this concept as follows: our feelings and our mind convince us of the existence of certain combinations of the simplest ideas that are most often encountered. We cannot allow these simplest ideas to connect themselves. We attribute this connection to some basis and call it essence. Essence is something unknown in itself, and we know only its individual properties.

From considering the concept of essence, Locke moves on to the idea of ​​relation. A relationship arises when the mind compares or compares two things. Such a comparison is possible for all things, so it is difficult to list all possible relationships between objects. As a result, Locke dwells on the most important of them - on the concept of identity and difference and on the relationship of cause and effect. The idea of ​​cause arises when we see that one phenomenon invariably precedes another. In general, the combination of ideas gives us knowledge. It relates to simple and complex ideas as a sentence relates to words, syllables and letters. From all this it follows that our knowledge does not go beyond the limits of experience, since we deal only with ideas, which, according to Locke, arise in us exclusively with the help of internal and external experience. This is Locke's main idea.

He expressed these views with great clarity and clarity in all his writings, devoting them mainly to “An Experience in the Study of the Human Mind.”

An Essay on the Human Mind consists of four books:

1) “On innate ideas”;

2) “On representations”;

3) “About words”;

4) "On knowledge and opinion."

The second book deals with representations in themselves, regardless of their truth. In the fourth book, Locke gives a critical assessment of knowledge, that is, he talks about ideas that provide true knowledge of reality, and considers opinion and faith as intermediate steps to true knowledge. We can say that the content of the second and fourth books exhausts the most essential in this work. The third book examines language as a means for communicating and asserting knowledge.

As for the first book, it serves as a preparation for the reader to understand Locke’s views. Locke himself says in his conclusion that he intends his first book to clear the way for his own research, so its content is, in some way, negative in nature. Locke makes every effort to destroy the belief in the existence of innate ideas. In Locke's time, innate ideas played a large role in philosophy. Descartes considered the concept of God to be innate. His followers significantly expanded this concept and based the doctrine of morality and law exclusively on the basic principles that they recognized as innate. Such faith in innate ideas threatened the further development of science, so Locke considered his first duty to engage in the fight against innate ideas. For this struggle it was necessary to put the reader on a new point of view, which was clarified in the second book of the Experience.

The first book does not contain any rigorous evidence. Despite this, the reader is convinced from the very first pages that the truth is on Locke’s side, and there are no innate ideas in the sense in which they were understood at that time. Locke began his studies in philosophy by studying Descartes. Descartes' direction was dominant at that time in France and partly in England. Spinoza also held the opinion that the concept of God is innate. In ancient times, Cicero recognized this and used it to prove that God really exists. Locke, although he denied the innateness of the concept of God, was not inferior to his predecessors in piety and, of course, did not doubt the existence of a higher principle, but argued that we get the idea of ​​God through experience, considering his creations. Empiricism did not prevent Locke from remaining a religious man. This religiosity is clearly manifested in Locke's philosophy. He undoubtedly belonged to those rare people for whom philosophy happily coexists with religion and goes with it, as it were, hand in hand.

The third book of the "Experience", dedicated to research into the properties of language, deserves special attention. There are many observations here, directly snatched from life, which with their truthfulness can make any person think. Of course, the science of language has made enormous strides forward since Locke's time. At that time, the prevailing opinion was that the formation of language did not obey any specific laws. For a long time later they began to look for a natural relationship between the consonance of a word and the object that it denotes. Views and explanations of phenomena sooner or later become obsolete, but correctly captured facts, as the fruit of observations, never lose their meaning. Leibniz says: language is the best mirror of our mind and soul, and therefore the study of the origin of words can lead us to an understanding of the activities of our mind and the processes of our thinking. Locke was obviously of the same opinion as Leibniz in this regard and devoted a lot of time to studying the connection that exists between language and thinking.

The imperfection of language, according to Locke, depends on four main reasons.

It manifests itself:

1) when the ideas expressed in words are too complex and consist of many simple ideas connected together;

2) when ideas do not have any natural connection with each other;

3) when they relate to a subject inaccessible to us;

4) when the meaning of the word does not correspond to the essence of the subject.

Language abuse also depends on various reasons:

1) from the use of words with which no clear idea is associated;

2) from mastering a word before its meaning is understood; from using the same word in different meanings;

3) from the application of words to ideas other than those they usually designate;

4) from applying them to objects that do not exist or are inaccessible.

These remarks of Locke, having no scientific value, are very important in practice, where the use of language is usually not given due importance and is often abused.

Let us now move on to the presentation of other sections of Locke's philosophy, which are also very important for everyone. The theory of morality created by this philosopher had, as we will see, great influence.

Locke denied the existence of innate moral laws. By the latter, he understood the basic provisions of law and morality, with which mutual relations between individuals and nations must be consistent - in a word, all the rules of community life. But what should be understood by the name innate ideas of morality? What the Stoics recognized as true reason, Spinoza called spiritual love of God, and Grotius called the nature of things. All this meant something unknown, guiding our actions. Later, this unknown was called “innate ideas of morality.” By challenging the existence of such ideas, Locke unwittingly undermined the foundation of all moral teachings that had ever existed. He argued that there are no general moral laws and sought to prove that every single moral rule changes over time. Moreover, Locke cited as proof of the validity of his opinion the fact that even today in different countries we encounter directly opposite rules of morality, which could not possibly have happened if there had been one innate idea of ​​morality to which all others could be reduced . Locke also does not recognize the immutability of the so-called inner voice or voice of conscience, saying that conscience itself is not the same among different people and nations, because it is also the result of upbringing and living conditions. From childhood we get used to considering as good what our parents and other people whom we trust call good. We often have neither the desire nor the time to talk about what we took for granted in childhood, and we readily admit that we were born with such concepts, not knowing how and where they came from. This, according to Locke, is the true history of innate ideas. This is also explained by the fact that no doctrine of morality and law is possible without the assumption of the existence of a general law. The law can only come from the legislator, whose infallibility we cannot doubt, and who alone has the power to punish and pardon. Only the omniscient God can be such a legislator, and therefore law and morality find their basis not in innate ideas, but in Divine revelation. It is further seen that Locke, as easily as possible, deduces the general basis of morality, but encounters great difficulties in reconciling with this Divine revelation all the various rules of social life and morality, the variety of which in the eyes of the observer is infinite. He barely finds the opportunity to establish the three most general provisions morality:

1) faith in God and his omnipotence; recognition of the power of the sovereign and the people;

2) fear of punishment and desire for reward guides our actions;

3) recognition of Christian morality and no other.

One cannot help but admit that all this is not well understood, but we cannot strictly blame Locke for the fact that his theory of morality is not as clear as the theory of knowledge. And to this day, no one has yet managed to discover the fundamental law of our moral nature, although people such as, for example, Comte have taken on this task. In England, immediately after Locke, Shaftesbury and Hume were engaged in the theory of morality, who took the feeling of love for one's neighbor as the fundamental law. Wolf, in Germany, puts the same law in a different form and bases the theory of morality on man’s constant striving for spiritual perfection. Leibniz, in contrast to Locke, recognized the existence of innate ideas of morality, to which he attributed an instinctive character. He said: we are not aware of the rules of morality, but we feel them instinctively. All this, of course, also does not at all clarify the origin of the moral principle.

Questions about morality are closely related to the question of free will, so it is appropriate here to give Locke’s opinion on this as well. Locke recognizes that our will is governed solely by the desire for happiness. This view was involuntarily established under the influence of observation of reality. But the philosopher, obviously, did not like this engine of all our actions, and he tried to give the word “happiness” the broadest meaning, but he was unable to stretch this concept to such an extent as to explain, for example, the actions of voluntary martyrs...

Locke claims that thinking has the power to suppress all passion and give rational direction to the will. It is in this power of reason, in his opinion, that human freedom consists. If we accept this definition of free will, then we will have to admit that not all people have the same degree of free will, and others are completely deprived of it, because for some reason there is a German proverb: “I see and justify the best, but follow the bad.” Locke recognizes as moral only those actions that come from reason; he is convinced that if a person weighs his actions well and foresees their consequences, then he always acts justly.

Thus, Locke fully agrees with Socrates in this regard, recognizing that an enlightened mind certainly leads to good morality. It is remarkable that such an opinion in both Locke and Socrates was a consequence of direct study of reality. But the similarities between Locke and Socrates do not end there - both of them expressed their thoughts without further ado. To give an idea of ​​Locke's presentation, one should cite his definitions of pleasure, love, anger, and so on, which are borrowed from the Essay.

Pleasure and pain are simple concepts. Among the ideas received through the senses, the sensations of pleasure and pain are the most important; every impression is accompanied by a feeling of pleasure or a feeling of pain or does not cause any feeling. The same applies to the thinking and mood of our soul. The feeling of pain and pleasure, like any simple idea, cannot be described or defined. These feelings can only be known, like all impressions, through one's own experience.

From these elementary feelings Locke moves on to more complex ones. "What is called good and evil? All things are good or bad, depending on whether they cause pleasure or cause pain. We call good everything that gives us a feeling of pleasure or elevates it and eliminates pain or reduces it. On the contrary, we we call evil everything that excites pain, increases it or deprives us of good. By the name of pleasure and pain I understand as much bodily as mental states. They are usually distinguished from each other, whereas both are essentially only different states of the soul caused by changes occurring in the body or in the soul itself."

Pleasure and pain and their causes - good and evil - are the centers around which our passions revolve. The idea of ​​them arises through introspection and study of their various influences on changing the states and moods of the soul.

"Love. If anyone fixes his attention on the idea of ​​pleasure connected with a present or absent object, he will receive the concept of love. If someone says in the fall, while enjoying grapes, or in the spring, when they are not there, that he loves grapes, then this only means that the taste of grapes gives him pleasure. If poor health or a change in taste destroys this pleasure, then it will be impossible to tell him that he loves grapes.”

"Hatred. On the contrary, the thought of pain caused by an absent or present object is what we call hatred. The ideas of love and hate are nothing more than states of the soul in relation to pleasure and pain, without any distinction whatsoever between the causes from which they arise.”

Wish. “Desire is a more or less living feeling arising from the absence of that which is connected with the idea of ​​pleasure; it rises and falls with the increase and decrease of the last feeling.”

Joy. “Joy is a satisfied state of mind under the influence of the consciousness that the possession of good has been achieved or will soon be achieved.”

Locke defines sadness as the opposite feeling. The definitions of hope, fear, doubt, anger, envy and other passions characteristic of all people are of the same nature.

There is a general opinion that the character of a writer should be studied in his writings. This opinion is absolutely true in relation to Locke. We do not notice high inspiration in him, but we find touching attention to the needs of ordinary people.

He behaves easily with his reader, although he is aware that this is why he loses, perhaps, in the opinion of many. “I know,” he says, “that my frankness harms my fame,” and he continues to be frank.

In support of what has been said, I will cite Locke’s thought about the limitations of the human mind.

“Our ability to learn is commensurate with our needs. No matter how limited the human mind may be, we must thank the Creator for it, because it far leaves behind the thinking abilities of all other inhabitants of our Earth. Our mind gives us the opportunity to formulate the necessary concept of virtue and arrange earthly life so that it leads to better life. We are unable to comprehend the hidden secrets of nature; but what we can understand is completely sufficient to form an understanding of the goodness of the Creator and of our own duties. We will not complain about the limits of our knowledge if we engage in what is truly useful to us. In the absence of sunlight, we will work by candlelight; our candle burns quite brightly for the work we need to do. If we don't have wings, we can at least walk. We do not need to know everything, but only what is directly related to life. Man climbs into the depths in vain, losing ground under his feet; he must not cross the circle separating the light from the dark, what is accessible to our minds from what is inaccessible. It is also unreasonable to doubt everything if we know a lot exactly. Doubt undermines our strength, deprives us of vigor, and makes us give up."

Reconciling philosophy with religion was the main task in Locke's life, and it is easy to imagine that this task was not easy. Locke's mind, humbled by religion, still often leaves the vicious circle he himself outlined, striving for bold conclusions, which then had to be justified and somehow connected with religion.

Recognizing experience as the only source of our knowledge, Locke stopped there and could not draw those consequences from this position, which were later drawn by Condillac and served to destroy many of the foundations of morality and religion.

Not a single one of Locke's followers in England went to such extremes, which were incompatible with the piety and conservatism of the English.

In conclusion, we will touch on the classification of sciences that Locke adhered to. He, like the ancient Greeks, divides science into physics, logic and ethics. What Locke calls logic can rather be called philosophy of knowledge. The science opposite to it is the philosophy of being; it breaks down into the philosophy of nature and the philosophy of the soul, the latter includes the theory of morality, law and aesthetics, or the doctrine of the arts. The old Aristotelian logic belongs to the philosophy of knowledge; it also includes the science of language. We do not find theology between the sciences, since, according to Locke, it is not a science, because it is based on revelation. Locke also considers the philosophy of history to be philosophy.

John Locke is an English philosopher, an outstanding thinker of the Enlightenment, a teacher, a theorist of liberalism, a representative of empiricism, a man whose ideas significantly influenced the development of political philosophy, epistemology, and had a certain impact on the formation of the views of Rousseau, Voltaire and other philosophers, American revolutionaries.

Locke was born in western England, near Bristol, in the small town of Wrington on August 29, 1632, in the family of a legal official. Puritan parents raised their son in an atmosphere of strict observance of religious rules. A recommendation from an influential acquaintance of his father helped Locke get into Westminster School in 1646, the most prestigious school in the country at that time, where he was among the best students. In 1652, John continued his education at Christ Church College, Oxford University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1656, and three years later a master's degree. His talent and diligence were rewarded with an offer to stay in educational institution and teach philosophy ancient greek language. During these years, his more Aristotelian philosophy became interested in medicine, the study of which he devoted a lot of effort. Nevertheless, he failed to obtain the desired degree of Doctor of Medicine.

John Locke was 34 years old when fate brought him together with a man who greatly influenced his entire life. further biography, - Lord Ashley, later Earl of Shaftesbury. At first, Locke was with him in 1667 as family doctor and the teacher of his son, later served as a secretary, and this encouraged him to enter politics. Shaftesbury provided him with enormous support, introducing him to political and economic circles, giving him the opportunity to take part in government. In 1668, Locke became a member of the Royal Society of London, and the following year he joined its Council. He does not forget about other types of activity: for example, in 1671 he conceived the idea of ​​a work to which he would devote 16 years and which would become the main thing in his philosophical heritage - “An Essay on Human Understanding,” dedicated to the study of human cognitive potential.

In 1672 and 1679, Locke served in the highest government offices in prestigious positions, but at the same time, his advancement in the world of politics was directly dependent on the successes of his patron. Health problems forced J. Locke to spend the period from the end of 1675 to the middle of 1679 in France. In 1683, following the Earl of Shaftesbury and fearing political persecution, he moved to Holland. There he developed a friendly relationship with William of Orange; Locke has a noticeable ideological influence on him and becomes involved in the preparation of a coup, as a result of which William becomes king of England.

Changes allow Locke to return to England in 1689. From 1691, his place of residence became Ots, the Mesham estate, which belonged to his friend, the wife of a member of parliament: he accepted her invitation to settle in a country house, because... suffered from asthma for many years. During these years, Locke not only was in government service, but also took part in raising Lady Masham’s son, devoted a lot of energy to literature and science, completed “An Essay on Human Understanding,” and prepared for publication previously planned works, including “Two Treatises on Government.” ", "Thoughts on education", "The reasonableness of Christianity." In 1700, Locke decides to resign from all his positions; On October 28, 1704 he died.

John Locke

Problems of the theory of knowledge, man and society were central to the work of John Locke (1632-1704). His theory of knowledge and social philosophy had a profound impact on the history of culture and society, in particular on the development of the American Constitution.

It is no exaggeration to say that Locke was the first modern thinker. His way of reasoning differed sharply from the thinking of medieval philosophers. The consciousness of medieval man was filled with thoughts about the otherworldly world. Locke's mind was distinguished by practicality, empiricism, this is the mind of an enterprising person, even a layman. He didn't have the patience to understand the intricacies Christian religion. He did not believe in miracles and was disgusted by mysticism. I did not believe people to whom saints appeared, as well as those who constantly thought about heaven and hell. Locke believed that a person should fulfill his duties in the world in which he lives. “Our lot,” he wrote, “is here, in this small place on Earth, and neither we nor our worries are destined to leave its boundaries.”

Major philosophical works.

"An Essay on Human Understanding" (1690), "Two Treatises on government"(1690), "Letters on Tolerance" (1685-1692), "Some Thoughts on Education" (1693), "The Reasonability of Christianity as It is Transmitted in Scripture" (1695).

Locke focuses his philosophical works on the theory of knowledge. This reflected general situation in philosophy of that time, when the latter began to be more concerned with personal consciousness and the individual interests of people.

Locke justifies the epistemological orientation of his philosophy by pointing out the need maximum approximation research to human interests, since “knowledge of our cognitive abilities protects us from skepticism and mental inactivity.” In An Essay Concerning Human Understanding he describes the task of the philosopher as that of a scavenger who cleanses the earth by removing the rubbish from our knowledge.

Locke's concept of knowledge as an empiricist is based on sensual principles: there is nothing in the mind that would not have previously been in the senses, all human knowledge is ultimately deduced from clear experience. “Ideas and concepts are as little born with us as art and science,” wrote Locke. There are no congenital moral principles. He believes that the great principle of morality ( Golden Rule) “more praised than observed.” He also denies the innateness of the idea of ​​God, which also arises through experience.

Based on this criticism of the innateness of our knowledge, Locke believes that the human mind is “white paper without any signs or ideas.” The only source of ideas - experience, which is divided into external and internal. External experience- these are the sensations that fill " Blank sheet" in various writings and which we receive through vision, hearing, touch, smell and other senses. Internal experience- these are ideas about our own activity within ourselves about the various operations of our thinking, about our mental states- emotions, desires, etc. All of them are called reflection, reflection.

By idea, Locke understands not only abstract concepts, but also sensations, fantastic images, etc. Behind ideas, according to Locke, there are things. Locke divides ideas into two classes:

1) ideas of primary qualities;

2) ideas of secondary qualities.

Primary qualities- these are properties inherent in bodies that are inalienable from them under any circumstances, namely: extension, motion, rest, density. Primary qualities are preserved during all changes in bodies. They are found in the things themselves and are therefore called real qualities. Secondary qualities are not located in the things themselves. They are always changeable, delivered to our consciousness by the senses. These include: color, sound, taste, smell, etc. At the same time, Locke emphasizes that secondary qualities are not illusory. Although their reality is subjective and located in man, it is nevertheless generated by those features of the primary qualities that cause certain activity of the senses. There is something in common between primary and secondary qualities: in both cases, ideas are formed through the so-called impulse.

Ideas obtained from two sources of experience (sensation and reflection) form the foundation, the material for the further process of cognition. They all form a complex of simple ideas: bitter, sour, cold, hot, etc. Simple ideas do not contain other ideas and cannot be created by us. Besides these, there are complex ideas which are produced by the mind when it composes and combines simple ones. Complex ideas can be unusual things that have no real existence, but can always be analyzed as a mixture of simple ideas acquired through experience.

The concept of the emergence and formation of primary and secondary qualities is an example of the use of analytical and synthetic methods. Through analysis, simple ideas are formed, and through synthesis, complex ones. The activity of the human mind is manifested in the synthetic activity of combining simple ideas into complex ones. Complex ideas formed by the synthetic activity of human thinking constitute a number of varieties. One of them is substance.

According to Locke, substance should be understood as individual things (iron, stone, sun, man), representing examples of empirical substances, and philosophical concepts (matter, spirit). Locke claims that all our concepts are derived from experience, then one would expect that he would reject the concept of substance as meaningless, but he does not do this, introducing the division of substances into empirical - any things, and philosophical substance- universal matter, the basis of which is unknowable.

In Locke's theory of perception, language plays an important role. For Locke, language has two functions - civil and philosophical. The first is a means of communication between people, the second is the precision of language, expressed in its effectiveness. Locke shows that the imperfection and confusion of language, devoid of content, is used by illiterate, ignorant people and alienates society from true knowledge.

Locke emphasizes the important social feature in the development of society, when in stagnant or crisis periods scholastic pseudo-knowledge flourishes, on which many slackers or simply charlatans profit.

According to Locke, language is a system of signs, consisting of sensible marks of our ideas, which enable us, when we wish, to communicate with each other. He argues that ideas can be understood in themselves, without words, and words are simply the social expression of thought and have meaning if supported by ideas.

All existing things, he says, are individual, but as we develop from childhood to adulthood, we observe common qualities in people and things. Seeing many individuals, for example, and “separating from them the circumstances of time and space and any other particular ideas,” we can arrive at the general idea of ​​“man.” This is the process of abstraction. This is how other general ideas are formed - animals, plants. All of them are the result of the activity of the mind; they are based on the similarity of the things themselves.

Locke also dealt with the problem of types of knowledge and its reliability. According to the degree of accuracy, Locke distinguishes the following types knowledge:

· Intuitive (self-evident truths);

· Demonstrative (conclusions, evidence);

· Sensitive.

Intuitive and demonstrative knowledge constitute speculative knowledge, which has the quality of indisputability. The third type of knowledge is formed on the basis of sensations and feelings that arise during the perception of individual objects. Their reliability is significantly lower than the first two.

According to Locke, there is also unreliable knowledge, probable knowledge, or opinion. However, just because we sometimes cannot have clear and distinct knowledge, it does not follow that we cannot know things. It is impossible to know everything, Locke believed; it is necessary to know what is most important for our behavior.

Like Hobbes, Locke views people in the state of nature as “free, equal and independent.” He proceeds from the idea of ​​the individual’s struggle for his self-preservation. But unlike Hobbes, Locke develops the theme of private property and labor, which he views as integral attributes natural man. He believes that it has always been characteristic of natural man to own private property, which was determined by his selfish inclinations inherent in him by nature. Without private property, according to Locke, it is impossible to satisfy the basic needs of man. Greatest benefit nature can only give when it becomes a personal property. In turn, property is closely related to labor. Labor and diligence are the main sources of value creation.

The transition of people from the state of nature to the state is dictated, according to Locke, by the insecurity of rights in the state of nature. But freedom and property must be preserved under the conditions of the state, since this is why it arises. At the same time, the supreme government cannot be arbitrary, unlimited.

Locke is credited with putting forward for the first time in the history of political thought the idea of ​​dividing supreme power into legislative, executive and federal, since only in conditions of their independence from each other can individual rights be ensured. Politic system becomes a combination of people and state, in which each of them must play its role in conditions of balance and control.

Locke is a supporter of the separation of church and state, as well as an opponent of the subordination of knowledge to revelation, defending “natural religion.” The historical turmoil Locke experienced prompted him to pursue a new idea of ​​religious tolerance at that time.

It presupposes the need for a separation between the civil and religious spheres: civil authorities cannot establish laws in the religious sphere. As for religion, it should not interfere with the actions of civil power, exercised by a social contract between the people and the state.

Locke also applied his sensationalistic theory in his theory of education, believing that if an individual cannot receive the necessary impressions and ideas in society, then social conditions must be changed. In his works on pedagogy, he developed the ideas of forming a physically strong and spiritually whole person who acquires knowledge useful for society.

Locke's philosophy had a huge influence on the entire intellectual thought of the West, both during the philosopher's life and in subsequent periods. Locke's influence is felt until the 20th century. His thoughts gave impetus to the development of associative psychology. Locke's concept of education had a great influence on advanced pedagogical ideas XVIII-XIX centuries.

John Locke was born on August 29, 1632 in a tiny cottage near the walls of the city church of Wrington, near Bristol, in the county of Somerset, into the family of John Locke and Agnes Kean. The son was named after his father. The father was a government lawyer and served in the Magistrates' Court in Chew Magna. At first Civil War in England, John Locke Sr. was a captain of the parliamentary cavalry.

The boy was baptized immediately after birth. Following this, the Locke family moved to the market town of Pensford, and young Locke was brought up at the local Tudor residence in Bellewton. In 1647, John Jr. entered the prestigious Westminster School in London. His education is paid for by Alexander Popham, a member of Parliament and his father's former commander. After school, Locke entered Christ Church College, Oxford. However, not being satisfied with the existing at that time curriculum, he enthusiastically studies the works of contemporary philosophers - such as Rene Descartes - and finds them much more interesting than the classical materials he was introduced to in college. A friend from the Westminster School, Richard Lower, introduced Locke to the world of medicine and experimental philosophy, the centers of which, at that time, in England were other universities and the English Royal Society, into which, a little later, Locke would enter. In 1656 he defended his bachelor's degree, and in 1658 - his master's degree. While studying at Oxford, Locke intensively studied medicine and worked with such outstanding scientists and thinkers as Robert Boyle, Thomas Willis, Robert Hook and Richard Lower, and in 1674 he became a bachelor medical sciences. In 1666, Locke met Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper, the first Earl of Shaftesbury. The views of the philosopher lord are amazing, and Locke subsequently works at his court.

Scientific activity

In 1667, Locke moved to the residence of the Earl of Shaftesbury on the Exeter estate in London, where he was appointed personal physician to Lord Ashley. He continues to study medicine under the guidance of Thomas Sydenham. It was Sydenham who had a decisive influence on the formation of Locke’s views on natural philosophy, which he sets out in his work “An Essay on Human Understanding.” The real test for Locke's accumulated medical knowledge is a fatal liver infection, seriously life-threatening Earl of Shaftesbury. After listening to the opinions of various experts, Locke tries with all his might to persuade the count to surgery to remove the tumor, which in those days was a very risky procedure. However, Earl Shaftesbury survives the operation successfully. From then on, a period of prosperity began in Locke's life. In 1671 he became Secretary of the Trade and Colonial Office and Secretary to the Lords Proprietors of North and South Carolina. With all his might, Locke strives to form his own vision international trade and economics.

Huge impact on Political Views Locke is supported by the Earl of Shaftesbury, founder of the Whig Party. In 1672, when Shaftesbury becomes Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, Locke becomes involved in political life countries. However, in 1675, Shaftesbury's rule fell, and therefore Locke will spend several years wandering around France, where he will give private lessons, and then become Caleb Banks' personal paramedic. In 1679 he returned to London. By that time, Earl Shaftesbury's career was on the rise again, and he convinced Locke to write the text of "Two Treatises of Government." From today's point of view, this work is a typical argument against absolute monarchy, as well as the basis for political legitimation labor agreement. His ideas about natural human rights and government will revolutionize the history of England.

In 1683, due to suspicions of participation in a conspiracy by representatives of the Whig party against King Charles II (the Rye House estate conspiracy), Locke had to flee to the Netherlands. There is practically no true evidence that he was one of the ideological masterminds of the conspiracy. The philosopher devotes most of his stay in the Netherlands to working on books: he rewrites his “Essay on Human Understanding” and compiles a “Letter on Tolerance.” He will return to his homeland only after the Glorious Revolution. In 1688, Locke accompanied the wife of William of Orange to England. Returning to his native lands, Locke published his works: “An Essay on Human Understanding”, “Two Treatises on Government” and “Letter on Tolerance”, among others. Locke lives with his close friend, Lady Masham, at her estate in Essex. By this time he becomes a true hero for the Whigs and often meets with such outstanding personalities as John Dryden and Isaac Newton.

Death

John Locke died on 28 October 1704 and was buried in the churchyard of High Lover, east of Harlow in Essex. In his entire life he was never married.

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Biographical information. John Locke (1632 - 1704) - English philosopher. Born into a lawyer's family, he studied at Oxford, where he received a master's degree.

Locke's focus is on problems of epistemology and social philosophy (politics, ethics and pedagogy).

Main works. “An Essay on Human Reason” (1690), “Two Treatises on Government” (1690), “Letters on Toleration” (1691), “Thoughts on Education” (1693).

Philosophical views. Ontology. Locke is deist 2 : Recognizing the creation of the world by God, he explains the existing physical world as a whole materialistically and mechanically. Newton influenced his ideas about the structure of this world.

Epistemology and sensationalism. Locke's main work, “An Essay Concerning the Human Mind,” is devoted to the problems of epistemology. If Fr. Bacon, Descartes, Newton focused their attention on scientific methodology, i.e. correct use of reason in scientific knowledge world, then the central theme for Locke was the human mind itself, its boundaries, abilities and functions. The most important role in his teaching is played by the concept of “ideas”.

The concept of “idea” is one of the most complex and polysemantic in the entire history of philosophy. Introduced into philosophical terminology by Plato, it had significantly transformed by the time of Locke. Therefore it is necessary to clarify what Locke calls ideas everything that, existing in human consciousness, is the object of human thinking: images of sensory things, abstractions (for example, number, infinity, etc.) and thoughts (expressed in sentences).

Polemicizing with Descartes, Locke consistently defends the thesis that there are no innate ideas - neither theoretical (scientific laws), nor practical (moral principles), including man does not possess an innate idea of ​​God. All ideas existing in human consciousness arise from experience. The soul of a newborn child is a white sheet of paper or a “blank slate” (“tabularaza”), and all the material with which the mind operates is taken from the experiences gained during life.

Ideas happen simple(received from one sense organ - sound, color, etc.) and complex(received from several senses). Thus, the idea of ​​an apple is complex, consisting of a number of simple ones: spherical shape, green color, etc.

Experience is divided into external where sensations come to us, and internal, in which we are dealing with reflection (internal activity of the soul, movement of thought).

Objects existing in the external world evoke simple ideas (sensations) in a person. Analyzing them, Locke develops theory of primary and secondary qualities 3 . Ideas are similar to the properties of the corresponding objects - the so-called primary qualities, i.e. objectively inherent in these objects: extension, figure, density, movement. Or they may not be similar - the so-called secondary qualities, i.e. not inherent as such in the objects themselves; they represent our subjective perception of primary qualities: color, sound, smell, taste. From this raw material the human mind, acting by connecting, mapping and abstracting, makes up complex ideas.

Among the ideas in the human mind, Locke distinguishes between clear and vague, real and fantastic, corresponding to their prototypes and not corresponding. Knowledge is true only when ideas correspond to things. Thus, laying the foundations of sensationalism, Locke not only asserts that sensations are the sources, but also that they (and not reason - as was the case with Descartes) are the criterion of truth.

He views the process of cognition as the perception and understanding of consistency and inconsistency between our ideas. The very consistency between the two ideas can be understood intuitively or through proof. So, intuitively we understand that white and black are different colors that a circle is not a triangle, three is greater than two and equal to two plus one. Where it is immediately impossible to clearly and distinctly understand the similarity and difference of ideas, we need evidence, i.e. a series of intermediate steps in which we compare the ideas we are interested in with one or more others. Thus, proof is ultimately also based on intuition.

Intuition and proof operate in cases where we are talking about the consistency and inconsistency of ideas in our minds. But in the process of cognition, the consistency or inconsistency of ideas with objects of the external world is also extremely important. This occurs through sensory cognition. Thus, Locke distinguishes three types of knowledge:

Ethics. Consistently developing his teaching, Locke criticizes the concept, popular at that time, of the innateness of moral ideas. He points out that different peoples have different ideas about good and evil, so the assertion that all people have such ideas as innate has no basis. In fact good - it is something that can cause or increase pleasure, reduce suffering, protect from evil. A evil may cause or increase suffering or deprive pleasure. Pleasure and pain themselves are simple ideas of the senses, comprehended by experience. Happiness is the presence of maximum pleasure and minimum suffering. The pursuit of happiness is the basis of all freedom, and freedom itself consists of the opportunity and ability to act and refrain from action.

Locke divides the laws that usually guide people in their lives into three groups:

All morality is based on divine laws received by men through Revelation, but these laws are compatible with the laws of “natural reason”, on the basis of which civil laws and laws of popular opinion are created.

Social philosophy. Locke is a supporter of constitutional monarchy, but royal power has no Divine basis. Like Hobbes, he believes that the state arose thanks to the “social contract.” But unlike Hobbes, who argued that in the state of nature the relationship “man to man - wolf” reigned, Locke believes that the relationship “man to man – friend” reigned there.

Since all people are equal and independent, no one should harm the life, health, freedom and property of other people. Hence, natural rights are: the right to life, the right to freedom. The right to property and the right to protect these rights.

The fate of the teaching. Locke's teaching is at the origins of the entire philosophy of the Enlightenment; he is most often called the first Enlightenment. Locke's teaching also served as the basis for the further development of sensationalism in philosophy. In addition, it should be noted that his teaching on human rights contributed to the formation of the ideology of liberalism.