John locke theory of natural rights pdf
John locke social contract.
JOHN LOCKE and the NATURAL LAW and NATURAL RIGHTS TRADITION
Steven Forde, University of North Texas
John Locke is one of the founders of “liberal” political philosophy, the philosophy of individual rights and limited government.
This is the philosophy on which the American Constitution and all Western political systems today are based.
John locke main ideasIn the Second Treatise of Government, Locke’s most important political work, he uses natural law to ground his philosophy. But there are many different interpretations of the natural law, from the Ciceronian to the Thomistic to the Grotian.
What is Locke’s interpretation? What version of natural law supports liberal politics?
Some argue that this is a misguided question.
John locke philosophy
They say that Locke’s political philosophy is not based on natural law at all, but instead on natural rights, like the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. This is probably the greatest controversy in Locke interpretation today.
Natural law theories hold that human