Locke, John

1. A seventeenth-century English philosopher. Locke argued against the belief that human beings are born with certain ideas already in their minds. He claimed that, on the contrary, the mind is a tabula rasa (blank slate) until experience begins to “write” on it. In his political writings, Locke attacked the doctrine of the divine right of kings and argued that governments depend on the consent of the governed.

Locke's political ideas were taken up by the American Founding Fathers; his influence is especially apparent in the Declaration of Independence.

Example Sentences

Here is where Magna Carta is invoked, along with the works of writers like John Locke, John Stuart Mill, George Orwell and others.

From New York Times

Locke, John, his view of moral good and moral evil, i.

From Project Gutenberg

Locke, John, Essay on the Human Understanding, 3; called "Father of Modern Psychology," 3; character of his work, 4; opposes the doctrine of innate ideas, his ideas introduced into France, 61; piety of, 62; framed a constitution for the New World, 117; Bancroft on, 118.

From Project Gutenberg

Among his first recordings were collaborations with the countertenor Alfred Deller on music by Bach, Purcell, Matthew Locke, John Jenkins and Elizabethans.

From New York Times

Locke, John, 1, 191, 2, 165, 257.

From Project Gutenberg