John Locke's Philosophy
In Locke’s view, a rational person was a moral person who lived by moral laws that were created. His theory included the thought that morality was the basis of human society (Faiella, 2006, p.71). Locke believed that God gave us the ability to reason to help us in the search of truth. To aid us, “God created in us a natural aversion to misery and a desire for happiness, so we avoid things that cause us pain and seek out pleasure instead” (SparkNotes Editors, 2005). Since God created us, we can reason that God wants everyone to be happy. Locke stated the freedom of man “is grounded on his having reason, which is able to instruct him in that law he is to govern himself by, and make him known how far he is left to the freedom of his own will” (Barker, 1960, p.36).
Other key theories included rule of government, that every individual have the moral obligation to rebel against a government that has lost sight that it exists for the people’s benefit only. The right of private property theory, revealing that every man had a right to self-preserve, survive and be happy. Also, theory of knowledge, that all knowledge come from and through experience, that beginning at birth, we experience our world through our five senses, filling our minds with ideas. (Velasquez, 2014, p.