John Locke (1632 – 1704) was a multifaceted English intellectual figure, where he worked as a scientist, professor and doctor, as well as a politician, philosopher and ancient Greek scholar, he is considered the father of Western liberalism.
Finally he would dedicate himself entirely to political activity, leading the English Whig party of the 17th century, promulgating ideas contrary to absolutism, a fact that would make him clash with Hobbes’ ideas regarding government. John Locke was a promoter of the separation of powers, citizen rights and religious tolerance.
23. There is often more to learn from children’s unexpected questions than from men’s speeches.
Adults can also learn a lot from children.
24. The ultimate occupation of man is to be happy
Happiness is the goal of every person.
25. New opinions are always suspicious, and are usually rejected
What is new, what is groundbreaking, always causes discomfort.
26. Protest is the right of the people
John Locke was very clear about individual rights for the improvement of society.
27. The ancients left much to the industry and sagacity of the time to come
The past is part of the present and future.
28. The reason men enter society is to preserve their property
Property is an essential element for the existence and goals of people, according to John Locke.
29. We are born free and no power on earth can subject us, except our own consent
Freedom has to be understood in all its senses, physical or psychological.
30. All wealth is the product of work
Work is the tool to achieve wealth.
31. The purpose of political men is the preservation of their property
Politics serves this purpose, that of keeping possessions intact.
32. Power must govern by declared and well received laws
Without the consent of the subjects no legislation should be valid.
33. Everyone is orthodox with respect to himself
Each point of view is a world.
34. By republic I constantly mean any independent community
Independence and freedom, correlated concepts.
35. Our business here is not to know all things, but those that affect our behavior
John Locke had a great interest in human behavior and the reasons for his actions.
36. That which is dynamic and random is confusing. In the middle lies art
Art always tends to bring out intrigue and mystery.
37. If we all walk the same step, then the path appears
The collective is what makes societies advance.
38. An excellent man is invariable in every way
Good behavior has to occur in all areas, both personal and social.
39. How long have you had those words in your head waiting to say them?
You should never be silent. The easy thing is to remain silent, the brave thing is to express yourself.
40. It is easier to lead than to teach
Giving orders is easier than educating.
41. In all ages, humanity has been disturbed not by power in the world, but by who should have it.
Power is not what corrupts, but the people who hold it.
42. I intend not to teach, but to ask
Locke was insatiable to soak up knowledge and wisdom.
43. The purpose of the law is to preserve or expand freedom
Laws always have to be in favor of people, not oppress them.
44. The villain, like the beams of a balance, is always varying
Whoever has a bad conscience will never be useful in this world.
45. All men are prone to mistakes; and most under the temptation to do so
Aren’t we wrong on purpose?
46. I can confess that external and internal sensation are the only passages I can find from knowledge to understanding
Knowing is not the same as understanding.
47. The legislature cannot transfer the power to make laws to other hands
The legislative branch must be independent of any other political entity.
48. The hope of eternal and incomprehensible happiness in another world is something that also brings with it constant pleasure
Believing in another happy life is what motivates many people to belong to a creed (religion).
48. Since everyone is equal, no one should harm another in their life, health, freedom or possessions.
For Locke, all citizens are equal before the law, the basis of Western Liberalism.
49. God has given men language to be the great instrument and common bond of society
The English author was devout, and often turned to theology for his reflections.
50. We would have fewer disputes in the world if words were taken for what they are, signs of our ideas only.
Sometimes we misunderstand what others mean.
51. What is static and repetitive is boring
John Locke was a lover of variety and everything that showed novelty (art, music, science)
52. No one can transfer to another more power than he contains within himself
The power of each person lies in themselves, not in others.
53. God has created man as a sociable animal, under the need to live with beings of his own species
Interesting comparison that distinguishes us from animals.
54. The only element that does not have property is the freedom of men
Another ode to the freedom of men.
55. Everything about history is killings and fights
Here he launches a harsh criticism of the field of history.
56. The rulers are nothing more than the clients of their fellow citizens
Political representatives serve the people, not the people serve them.
57. It is with tolerance where great collective milestones are achieved
The basis of his political theories were based on tolerance, on understanding others no matter how different they may be.
58. The head and knowledge are the only things that make us men
For Locke, strength or violence were not any sign of virility.
59. The teacher must teach the student to love and appreciate knowledge
The difficult task of teaching, which often fails in its attempt to transmit knowledge.
60. We are always more willing to lie than to tell the truth
Are people liars by nature?
61. There is nothing in the intellect that was not previously in the senses
All knowledge resides in the human being’s drive to know and develop.
62. There is only one way to heaven
For John Locke, religion was an important part of society, and he often reminded us that a life after death awaits us.
63. Personal identity depends on consciousness
Consciousness will determine our actions, nothing more.
64. Beasts do not abstract
It is what differentiates us from wild animals.
65. If we let others control our thoughts we will never control our destiny
Freedom begins in the conscience, the mind and our desires. It is the first thing we must protect.
66. New opinions are always suspect, and generally conflicting, for no other reason than because they are not common
The nature of opinions or their truth and falsity is another common theme in Locke’s philosophy.
67. To prejudge other men’s notions before we have examined them is not to show their darkness but to put out our eyes.
It is necessary not to fall into hasty and absurd prejudices.
68. When people walk all the time, in the same place, a path appears
A truly interesting idea: the path is made by walking.
69. Daydreaming is when ideas float in our mind without reflection or consideration of understanding.
An approach that we must take into account even today.
70. So, in fact, the religion that should most distinguish us from the beasts and that should most particularly elevate us, as rational creatures, above the beasts, is that in which men often seem most irrational and most senseless. than the same beasts.
Human nature, religion and the existence of God are some of the topics that philosophers have always addressed.
71. He who has these two (healthy mind and body), has little more to desire; and whoever wants any of them, he will be little better for anything else
Health is based on a balanced body and mind.
72. The things of this world are in such a constant flux that nothing remains in the same state for long.
An approach that has been replicated throughout history by many other philosophers.
73. The Bible is one of the greatest blessings given by God to the children of men. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and unmixed truth for its matter. Everything is pure, everything sincere; nothing too much; nothing wanting!
Religion was one of the most important topics in his life.
74. Our business here is not to know all things, but those that concern our conduct
A good way to delimit knowledge about the world.
75. The great question that, in all ages, has disturbed humanity and has brought it most of its evils… has been, not whether there is power in the world, nor where it comes from, but who should have it.
Power, politics, economics and truth were the great topics that fascinated him throughout his career.
76. Because where is the man who has incontestable proof of the truth of everything he maintains, or of the falsehood of everything he condemns; Or can he say that he has thoroughly examined all of his own or others’ opinions?
Although human beings do not always listen to the evidence of everything we say or hear, for Locke it was something truly important.
77. Anyone who wants to enlist under the banner of Christ must, first and foremost, wage war on his own desires and vices. It is in vain for any man to usurp the name of Christian, without holiness of life, purity of manners, benignity and meekness of spirit.
A proof of how faith was conceived in his time.
78. The purpose of the law is not to abolish or restrict, but to preserve and expand freedom.
One of the fundamental principles of liberalism.
79. But, what if you neglect the care of your soul? I answer: And if he neglects the care of his health or his property, things that are more related to the government of the magistrate than the others?
For Locke, the soul was one of the elements that should be cared for the most.
80. The improvement of understanding has two purposes: first, our own increase in knowledge; secondly, to allow us to deliver that knowledge to others
Only in this way will we be able to be informed and cultured people.
81. The discipline of desire is the background of character
Locke also reflected on the dynamics and social conventions of the England of his time.
82. The need to believe without knowledge, even more so, often on very weak bases, in this fleeting state of action and blindness in which we find ourselves, should make us more busy and careful in informing ourselves than in forcing others.
Locke believed above all in the importance of proving the truth of things.
83. An infallible mark of the love of truth is not to accept any proposition with greater certainty than that guaranteed by the evidence on which it is based.
Questioning any approach and certifying every piece of evidence from what one hears or reads is essential to reaching the truth.
84. I have spent more than half my life trying to express the tragic moment
His life was full of ups and downs, but he still knew how to be faithful to his convictions.
85. Our works disguise us. People need an endless time to test his works, until each one knows the proper works he should do. But every day, every hour, he runs by. There is no time
His contributions on the social functioning and conventions of the time are truly interesting.
86. Where the law ends, tyranny begins
A truth that remains valid today.
87. The idea is the object of thought
The idea is the main tool with which philosophers work.
88. Our income is like our shoes; if they are too small, they irritate and pinch us; but if they are too big, they make us stumble
An allegory that helps us understand the domestic economy.
89. Only stupid people don’t change their minds
Changing our minds is one of the wisest things we can do.
90. Men always forget that human happiness is a disposition of the mind and not a condition of circumstances
Happiness depends on our conception of the reality that surrounds us.
91. Reading provides the mind with only materials of knowledge; It is thought that makes what we read ours.
The human mind is capable of transforming everything we receive from reading and studying and incorporating it into ourselves.
92. Fashion for the most part is nothing more than the display of wealth.
John Locke also spent his time criticizing some of the social conventions of the time.
93. The acts of the mind, in which it exercises its power over simple ideas, are mainly these three: 1. It combines several simple ideas into one compound one, and thus all complex ideas are formed. 2. The second is to put two ideas together, whether they are simple or complex, and put them next to each other so that you see them at once, without combining them into one, so you get all your relationship ideas. 3. The third is to separate them from all the other ideas that accompany them in their real existence: this is called abstraction, and this is how all their general ideas are made.
An interesting summary of how the mind worked, according to Locke, and its relationship with ideas.
94. I do not intend to teach, but to investigate; and therefore I cannot help confessing here again, that external and internal sensation are the only passages I can find from knowledge to understanding.
As the greatest exponent of empiricism, Locke considered that without experience there is no knowledge.
95. No man can be forced to be rich or healthy, whether he wants it or not. No, God himself will not save men against his will.
Human beings have free will in life, we must take advantage of it for good.
96. When we discover an Idea, through whose intervention we discover the connection of two others, this is a Revelation of God to us, through the voice of Reason.
An interesting summary of John Locke’s philosophical thought regarding thought and ideas.
97. There are a thousand paths to wealth, but only one path to heaven
The salvation of the soul was of great importance to this great English thinker.
98. Slavery is a state of man so vile and miserable, and so directly opposed to the generous temper and courage of our nation; that it is difficult to conceive that an Englishman, much less a gentleman, should defend it.
Unlike many other liberals, Locke strongly opposed slavery.
99. There are some Men of one, some but of two syllogisms, and no more; and others who can only go one step further
A categorization relative to human understanding and the intellectual nature of men.
100. God has woven into the principles of human nature such tenderness for his offspring, that there is little fear of parents using their power too rigorously.
The love of parents for their children is one of the mechanisms that have made our survival possible.
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