Why John Locke is the Greatest Philosopher of all Time

Why John Locke is the Greatest Philosopher of all Time John Locke was a British philosopher and physician who lived from 29th August 1632 to 28th October 1704. He is one of the most outstanding of enlightenment thinkers, who explained many of the ideas that affect human life in today’s society. He is widely known as the father of classical liberalism, because of his emphases on liberty of persons by, restricting the authority of the government Jenkins and John (18). He is also regarded as one the first imperialist in Britain because his pioneer work on imperialism theory, a theory in epistemology that asserts that knowledge comes only from sensory experience. He is equally important when studying the theory of the social contract, which†¦show more content†¦His view on exempting papists and atheist from religion freedom has been severely criticized (Jenkins and John 35). Theory of value and property According to Locke the word property can be viewed from two perspectives; narrow and broad. Property is broad in the sense that it covers a wide range of human interests and aspirations, while on a narrow perspective property refers to material goods. From his argument property ought to be viewed as a natural right derived from labor. Locke further argues that property should be used to produce goods that are beneficial to human society and that ownership of goods and property should be based on the labor used in producing the goods. Locke believes that nature produces goods of little value; therefore, labor must be exerted to increase the value of the goods. This means that goods the society gets from nature are of less significance unless combined with labor during the production process, so without labor goods are of no value, because goods derive their value from labor. According to Locke, for one to own property they must apply labor in the production of that property, lock summ aries the theory by saying that property comes before the state, a claim that Karl Max criticizes in his social theory (Locke 101). Locke also believed that as much as labor creates property, it does not dictate limits of property accumulation.Show MoreRelatedThe Inspiration of the Declaration of Independence1203 Words   |  5 Pagesinfluenced one of the greatest founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, to create such an important document in our American history. To really understand what influenced Thomas Jefferson, we must understand some of the men who inspired him when creating this document. Its also important for us to understand the philosophies these men went by, and why Thomas Jefferson wanted incorporate their philosophies in his grand ideas. 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