Book Description

Excerpt from The Moral and Political Philosophy of John Locke The following study of the moral and political philosophy of John Locke aims to supply a lack in the existing discussions of the subject. Only one previous monograph on Locke's ethics has appeared - Professor M. M. Curtis's Outline of Locke's Ethical Philosophy, Leipzig, 1890 - which contains much helpful material. The present essay, in addition to differing widely from some of Professor Curtis's conclusions, attempts to view Locke more closely in his relations to his predecessors and contemporaries. Hence a rather full exposition has been given both of the traditions in moral and political philosophy from Hooker to Locke, and of the controversies into which Locke was himself drawn on certain points of ethical theory. Not only does such a study throw further light on Locke's epistemology, that aspect of his thought which usually attracts the most attention, but also it should have considerable interest in itself. The bibliography which is appended in no way pretends to be an exhaustive list of even the most important works which bear upon Locke's moral and political philosophy. It includes only those books which have been mentioned in the course of the discussion and is designed to indicate the editions which have been used and to assist in the verification of references. Wherever possible the references to the works of Locke and the other writers have been to chapters and sections rather than to pages. Where that procedure has been impossible, the fact has been distinctly noted. I wish to express my great indebtedness to Professor John Dewey. I received special help from him in writing Chapter I of Book II, but profited throughout by his general advice and wise counsel. I found it a constant pleasure to work under his inspiring instruction. Also I wish to thank Professor Frederick J. E. Woodbridge, both for the light he has frequently thrown for me on this period in the history of philosophy and for his personal services in reading the proof and editing the dissertation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.