Life and Works

Political Ideas – John Locke

This course explores the political philosophy of John Locke (1632-1704), oriented around the Liberalism section of the Government and Politics A-Level specification. We begin in the first module by outlining his life and works, before moving on to explore in the second module Locke’s conception of natural rights, natural law, and the state of nature. In the third module, we explore the importance of Locke’s formulation of consent in his political thought, focusing in particular on his notion of tacit consent and claim that the formation of a political society requires all to renounce their ‘executive power of the law of nature’. In the fourth module, we consider Locke’s ‘Letter Concerning Toleration’ of 1689, highlighting the centrality of Christian doctrines to Locke’s formulation of religious toleration, before moving on to consider in the fifth module Locke’s writings on – and involvement with – slavery, and the implications of this for his political thought more broadly.

Life and Works

In this module, we outline the life and works of John Locke, focusing in particular on: (i) his education and training as a doctor; (ii) his involvement in government and politics; (iii) his connection to key political figures of the time, including his patron the Earl of Shaftesbury; (iv) his alleged involvement in the Rye House Plot of 1683; (v) his key works, including the Two Treatises of Government; and (vi) four key aspects of his political thought to be covered in this course, including natural rights and the social contract.