A Companion to Locke

These twenty-nine original essays examine the full range of John Locke's contributions as a celebrated philosopher, empiricist, and father of modern political theory. Arguably England's most important philosopher, Locke had a large impact on a broad range of fields during his lifetime and beyond, including epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of science, political theory, education, religion, and economics. This is the most comprehensive reference on his thoughts and writing with complete summaries of the most recent research and developments in the field from leading philosophers and scholars. The essays in this volume cover the full spectrum of topics related to Locke, from his life and legacy to his theories on metaphysics, epistemology, government, ethics, society, and religion. They describe the political, philosophical, and religious contexts in which his ideas and views were developed. They delve into the most important Lockean topics, such as innate ideas, perception, natural kinds, free will, natural rights, religious toleration, and political liberalism. This authoritative work is indispensable to anyone working on the large number of topics for which Locke's thoughts and writings remain highly influential.