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Locke, John

(Encyclopedia) Locke, JohnLocke, Johnlŏk, 1632–1704, English philosopher, founder of British empiricism. Locke summed up the Enlightenment in his belief in the middle class and its right to freedom…

John Locke

John Locke was a 17th-century English philosopher whose ideas formed the foundation of liberal democracy and greatly influenced both the American and French revolutions. His contributions to…

Stillingfleet, Edward

(Encyclopedia) Stillingfleet, Edward, 1635–99, English prelate and author. A fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, he became (1657) rector of Sutton, Bedfordshire. In 1661 he published Irenicum, a…

Toland, John

(Encyclopedia) Toland, JohnToland, Johntōˈlənd [key], 1670–1722, British deist, b. Ireland. Brought up a Roman Catholic, Toland became a Protestant at 16. He studied at Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Leiden…

Norris, John

(Encyclopedia) Norris, John, 1657–1711, English clergyman and philosopher. As the most prominent follower of Malebranche he wrote, in exposition of that philosopher's system, An Essay towards the…

social contract

(Encyclopedia) social contract, agreement or covenant by which men are said to have abandoned the “state of nature” to form the society in which they now live. The theory of such a contract, first…

Collins, Anthony

(Encyclopedia) Collins, Anthony, 1676–1729, English theologian; a friend of John Locke. He set forth the position of the deists and defended the cause of rational theology. His Discourse of Free…

atomism

(Encyclopedia) atomism, philosophic concept of the nature of the universe, holding that the universe is composed of invisible, indestructible material particles. The theory was first advanced in the…

empiricism

(Encyclopedia) empiricismempiricismĕmpĭrˈĭsĭzəm [key] [Gr.,=experience], philosophical doctrine that all knowledge is derived from experience. For most empiricists, experience includes inner…

Filmer, Sir Robert

(Encyclopedia) Filmer, Sir Robert, d. 1653, English royalist political writer, author of Patriarcha; or, The Natural Power of Kings (pub. posthumously in 1680), a defense of the divine right of…