| I recently read a book entitled, "Reform Judaism, Then and Now." The book
cited, among others, John Locke as instrumental in the movement toward
tolerence during the period sometimes referred to as "The Age of Reason."
.0 may be a bit of an overstatement, as Locke considered tolerence not simply
a matter of compassion, but a matter of reason.
LOCKE, John (1632-1704) English philosopher who founded the school of
empiricism (qv).
Empiricism: Locke's empiricism emphasizes the importance of the experience of
the senses in pursuit of knowledge rather than intuitive speculation or
deduction. The empiricist doctrine was first expounded by English philosopher
and statesman Francis Bacon early in the 17th century, but Locke gave it
systematic expression in his "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" (1690).
He regarded the mind of a person at birth as a 'tabula rasa,' a blank slate
upon which experience imprinted knowledge, and did not believe in intuition
or theories of innate conceptions ['Nurture, not nature' oversimplifies
and misleads]. Locke also held that all persons were born good, independent,
and equal.
Many of Locke's political ideas, such as those relating to natural rights,
property rights, and the duty of the government to protect these rights were
later embodied in the US Constitution. He also believed in religious
freedom and in the separation of church and state.
Other works by Locke include "The Reasonableness of Christianity" (1695) and
"Some Thoughts Concerning Education" (1693).
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| John Locke, the English philosopher, once wrote "Where there is no law
there is no freedom. For liberty is to be free from restraint and
violence from others, which cannot be where there is no law, and is
not, as we are told, 'a liberty for every man to do what he lists
[wishes].' For who could be free, when every other man's humour might
domineer over him?"
Phil.
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