Abstract

In a careful reading of the principal works of John Locke, especially the Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Two Treatises of Government, I investigate three kinds of human liberty: the liberty of the mind, the "natural liberty" of man or the liberty of man in the state of nature, and the "liberty of man in society" or of man under positive law. The liberty of the mind is that power of the mind to weigh and consider various goods and to make judgements about those goods apart from mere desire. Natural liberty describes a man's power to act on the commands of his mind, and it is seen most readily in Locke's state of nature. Finally, we see a liberty of man in the commonwealth, where men have "a standing rule to live by, common to every one of that society, and made by the legislative power erected in it." ;What I will show in this dissertation is that to understand how Locke envisions human liberty, one must investigate all three kinds of liberty. To follow Locke's argument for natural liberty and liberty of man in society found in the Second Treatise, therefore, one must have recourse first to the Essay Concerning Human Understanding where Locke speaks of the fundamental workings of human reason, the liberty of the mind, and the determination of the will. A study of the human mind and of the mind's knowledge of the world and God is a prerequisite for understanding both natural liberty and the liberty of man under positive law . Further, according to Locke, for human liberty to be truly human, it must be discovered and attained without the assistance of Divine Revelation. ;Locke shows finally that true human liberty, however much to be wished for, is unattainable in this life. A man's rational nature, created for self-rule and liberty, must surrender expediently to rule by others. However ordered and limited constituted rule is and however abundant are the fruits of human labor, civil society can only approximate the conditions of human liberty