John Locke Clarissa Cardenas Jacob Contreras Victoria Collier

John Locke Biography • Born on August 29, 1632 in Wrington, Somersetshire, England. • Locke went to Christ Church College, Oxford and received his Bachelors degree in 1656 and his Masters degree 1658. • Locke died in Oates in October 28, 1704.

John Locke’s Inspiration • Locke’s inspiration for being one of the most well-known philosophers of his time was due to the period he grew up in. • Most of his life was during the Enlightenment period which influenced his opinions on education. • Although the Enlightenment was mainly about having different teaching skills from a teacher to the pupil, Locke believed that the student needed to be given examples but do things on their own to learn better.

Philosophy of John Locke o “All people are born equal and that education can free people from the subjugation of tyranny. ” – John Locke o Locke believed that everyone has a right to an education and all of their rights. o Locke thought that people were born with blank minds and as they grew and experienced life, the world influenced the mind and that is how people learned.

John Locke on Politics Ø Locke felt strongly that the government should tolerate freedom of religion. Ø He expressed that man should be given the right to own their own property and, “government has no other end, but the preservation of property, ” making the sole purpose of having a government is maintaining property. Ø “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom… where there is no law, there is no freedom, ” said Locke expressing that in order for people to have things they want there need to be rules that are followed.

John Locke on Education • “I imagine the minds of children as easily turn'd this or that way, as water it self” • Locke thought that education should be geared more towards poorer children because of their lack of resources while the more privileged kids were able to have other people learn for them. • John Locke thought that when teaching you need to make sure “that children be not too warmly clad or cover'd”. If you allow the children to take things easy and ‘baby’ them, then they learn to become dependent on others and they won’t survive without help from others.

John Locke on Education Cont. • • • “Skills and knowledge are acquired by example and practice instead of charging of children's memories with rules and principals” meaning that rather than just telling the students how to do something or how something is, it’s better to show them; lead by example. “The best way to get men to do what is wanted is not to terrify or force them but to motivate them…” let them think, “that they are acting for their own sakes and of their own free will. ” By stating this, Locke is implying that you need to plant the seed of the idea into the persons head, water it with the tools needed to carry out the idea, but let the person pursue it as their own. “The goal of the gentlemen's education cannot be achieved by sending him to a school. Learning should be superintended by a tutor assisted by genuinely interested parents, ” because Locke felt that the student needed to be encouraged by people that were important to them so they could have the drive needed to succeed.

John Locke’s Theory of Knowledge • John Locke had a theory on knowledge where he compared the mind to paper, he said, “Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas…” • This is a great theory because our minds in a way are just like fresh sheets of paper. We can take notes of what we learn and mentally fill up our “white paper” with knowledge. • John Locke also believed a great way to learn is through experience. If you learn from mistakes, you will learn how to correct them. That’s why practice makes perfect.

An Essay On Human Understanding… • John Locke wrote a whole essay on many different degrees of the human minds ability to obtain knowledge. • One degree was perception where he said “the mind perceives that white is not black, that a circle is not a triangle, that three are more than two and equal to one and two. ” • This means the mind has a mind of it’s own, it thinks faster than we ourselves think. It is a tool that we use almost all day, everyday. It is the humans best asset.

From John Locke’s Mouth v“The improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our own increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others” v “All wealth is the product of labor. ” v “I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts” v “A sound mind in a sound body, is a short, but full description of a happy state in this World: he that has these two, has little more to wish for; and he that wants either of them, will be little the better for anything else”

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