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John Locke, You cannot fault others if you are imperfect

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For where is the man that has incontestable evidence of the truth of all that he holds, or of the falsehood of all he condemns; or can say that he has examined to the bottom all his own, or other men’s opinions? The necessity of believing without knowledge, nay often upon very slight grounds, in this fleeting state of action and blindness we are in, should make us more busy and careful to inform ourselves than constrain others.

At least, those who have not thoroughly examined to the bottom all their own tenets, must confess they are unfit to prescribe to others; and are unreasonable in imposing that as truth on other men’s belief, which they themselves have not searched into, nor weighed the arguments of probability, on which they should receive or reject it.

Those who have fairly and truly examined, and are thereby got past doubt in all the doctrines they profess and govern themselves by, would have a juster pretence to require others to follow them: but these are so few in number, and find so little reason to be magisterial in their opinions, that nothing insolent and imperious is to be expected from them: and there is reason to think, that, if men were better instructed themselves, they would be less imposing on others.

John Locke, An Essay on Human Understanding, Book IV, Ch. 16, sec. 4

John Locke, Corect your own faults first

 

 

 

Montesquieu, The Spirit of Intolerance

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Christians are beginning to lose the spirit of intolerance which animated them: experience has shown the error of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, and of the persecution of those Christians in France whose belief differed a little from that of the king. They have realized that zeal for the advancement of religion is different from a due attachment to it; and that in order to love it and fulfill its behests, it is not necessary to hate and persecute those who are opposed to it.

Baron Charles de Montesquieu, Persian Letters #60

A Treatise Of Human Nature by David Hume

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A Treatise on Human Nature by David HumeGet a FREE copy of “A Treatise Of Human Nature” by David Hume

David Hume (1711 – 1776) was a Scottish philosopher who promoted skepticism and empiricism.  He argued that people can only know that which they experience.  Therefore, human experience is the only way we can get to the truth of what exists.  He denied God’s existence since he could not sense or experience God. Many of his contemporaries denounced his writings as works of scepticism and atheism.

Hume’s major philosophical works — A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-1740), the Enquiries concerning Human Understanding (1748) and concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), as well as the posthumously published Dialogues concerning Natural Religion (1779) — remain influential.

Hume began writing the treatise at the age of sixteen, finishing the work ten years later. Although many scholars today consider it to be Hume’s most important work and one of the most important books in the history of philosophy, the public in Britain did not at first agree. Hume himself described the (lack of) public reaction by writing that the book “fell dead-born from the press”.

The work contains  contains the following sections:

  • Book 1: “Of the Understanding” – An investigation into human cognition.
  • Book 2: “Of the Passions” – A treatment of emotions and free will.
  • Book 3: “Of Morals” – A treatment of moral ideas, justice, obligations, benevolence.

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Niccolo Machiavelli – Men Should Be Well Treated or Crushed

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Upon this, one has to remark that men ought either to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge.

Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, Ch. 3

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Niccolo Machiavelli - Crush or Be Crushed

John Locke

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John Locke book coverGet a FREE copy of “John Locke” by Richard I. Aaron

MY first aim in this book has been a sound exposition of Locke’s writings. The book is divided into three parts.

Part I of “John Locke” is biographical, and I have here been particularly helped by the materials to be found in the collection of Locke’s private papers now in the possession of the Earl of Lovelace. In Part I also I have examined again briefly, for my space is very limited the main influences which worked upon Locke.

Part II of “John Locke” is an exposition of Locke’s theory of knowledge, that is to say, of the Essay. In addition to expounding the text I have tried to fit the teaching into its proper background so as to acquaint the reader with the issues involved.

Part III of “John Locke” deals with Locke’s teaching on moral philosophy, political theory, education, and religion.

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John Locke, Truth for truth’s sake is the principal part of human perfection

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John LockeYOU, in yours of the 21st, say a great many very kind things: and I believe all that you say; and yet I am not very well satisfied with you. And how then is it possible to please you? will you be ready to say. Think that I am as much pleased with your company, as much obliged by your conversation, as you are by mine; and you set me at rest, and I am the most satisfied man in the world. You complain of a great many defects; and that very complaint is the highest recommendation I could desire, to make me love and esteem you, and desire your friendship. And if I were now setting out in the world, I should think it my great happiness to have such a companion as you, who had a true relish of truth, would in earnest seek it with me, from whom I might receive it undisguised, and to whom I might communicate what I thought true freely.

Believe it, my good friend, to love truth, for truth’s sake, is the principal part of human perfection in this world, and the seed-plot of all other virtues; and if I mistake not, you have as much of it as ever I met with in any body. What then is there wanting to make you equal to the best; a friend for any one to be proud of? Would you have me take upon me, because I have the start of you in the number of years, and be supercilious, conceited, for having in a long ramble travelled some countries, which a young voyager has not yet had time to see, and from whence one may be sure he will bring larger collections of solid knowledge?

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Commentaries on the Laws of England – Volume One

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Perhaps the most important legal treatise ever written in the English language, Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-69) was the first effort to consolidate English common law into a unified and rational system. Clearly and elegantly written, the work achieved immediate renown and exerted a powerful influence on legal education both in England and America.

The Commentaries is divided into four books. The first, deals with what Blackstone called “the rights of persons,” what a modern lawyer would call constitutional law, the legal structure of government. Book II describes the law of property. Book III analyzes civil procedure and remedies. The last book is devoted to criminal law and procedure.

Now regarded as a literary, as well as a legal classic, Blackstone’s Commentaries brilliantly laid out the system of English law in the mid-eighteenth century, demonstrating that as a system of justice, it was comparable to Roman law and the civil law of the Continent. Ironically, the work also revealed to the colonists the insufficiency of the system and became a model for the legal system of the fledgling American nation in 1789.

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The Reasonableness of Christianity by John Locke

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In 1695 John Locke published “The Reasonableness of Christianity”, an enquiry into the foundations of Christian belief. He did so anonymously, to avoid public involvement in the fiercely partisan religious controversies of the day.

In “The Reasonableness of Christianity” John Locke considered what it was to which all Christians must assent in faith; he argued that the answer could be found by anyone for themselves in the divine revelation of Scripture alone. He maintained that the requirements of Scripture were few and simple, and therefore offered a basis for tolerant agreement among all Christians, and the promise of peace, stability, and security through toleration.

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The Wealth of Nations by Adams Smith

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Adam Smith’s masterpiece, first published in 1776, is the foundation of modern economic thought and remains the single most important account of the rise of, and the principles behind, modern capitalism. Written in clear and incisive prose, The Wealth of Nations articulates the concepts indispensable to an understanding of contemporary society.

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist Adam Smith. It is a clearly written account of economics at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, as well as a rhetorical piece written for the generally educated individual of the 18th century – advocating a free market economy.

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A Letter Concerning Toleration by John Locke – FREE ebook

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A Letter Concerning Toleration by John Locke was originally published in 1689. Its initial publication was in Latin, though it was immediately translated into other languages. Locke’s work appeared amidst a fear that Catholicism might be taking over England, and responds to the problem of religion and government by proposing religious toleration as the answer.

John Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration is one of the most under appreciated texts in the liberal tradition of political philosophy. When read in conjunction with his Second Treatise, it clarifies the relationship Locke envisions between individuals and the state. In the letter, Locke argues that all religious practices should be tolerated unless they are a threat to the proper functioning of the state.

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Some Thoughts Concerning Education by John Locke – FREE Ebook

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Some Thoughts Concerning Education is a 1693 treatise on education written by the English philosopher John Locke. For over a century, it was the most important work on education in England. It was translated into almost all of the major European languages and nearly every European writer on education after Locke, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, acknowledged its influence.

Locke does not present a systematic theory of education, and the work reads more like an instruction manual than a philosophical text. Locke’s is convinced that moral education is more important than other kinds of education. The goal of education, in his view, is not to create a scholar, but to create a virtuous man.

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“An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” by John Locke

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An Essay Concerning Human Understanding concerns the foundation of human knowledge and understanding. Locke describes the mind at birth as a blank slate filled later through experience.

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding is sectioned into four books. Taken together, they comprise an extremely long and detailed theory of knowledge starting from the very basics and building up.

Book I of the Essay is Locke’s attempt to refute the rationalist notion of innate ideas. Book II sets out Locke’s theory of ideas, including his distinction between passively acquired simple ideas, such as “red,” “sweet,” “round,” etc., and actively built complex ideas, such as numbers, causes and effects, abstract ideas, ideas of substances, identity, and diversity.

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