John Locke (1632-1704)

John P. Irish goes into full Locke-down with a titan of philosophy.

- John P. Irish

Before 1689, when he was almost sixty, there was very little in John Locke’s life that would have indicated that he was to become one of the most important philosophical minds of the Western world. Before that, he was little more than a footnote in English history, with no major publications, and only a few minor writings which were all published anonymously. But after 1689, with the publication of his two magnum opuses, the Two Treatises of Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, the world would take notice of this powerful intellect.

Birth, Education and Early Writings

John Locke was born in Wrington, Somerset, a small town just south of Bristol, England, on August 28, 1632, to parents of moderate means. His father, John Locke, Sr., owned some land and property, and supplemented his income from these by practicing as an attorney and taking administrative posts in local government. Locke remembered his father being severe and his mother being affectionate. His family had Puritan sympathies, and his father was an officer in the Parliamentary cavalry in the English Civil War, under Alexander Popham.

In 1645 Popham served as a Member of Parliament, which allowed him to recommend boys for places at the Westminster School. At the time the Westminster School was considered to be the finest school in England. Locke entered it in 1647. Education at the School consisted primarily in the study of ancient languages: Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.