The Nature of Man -- John Locke

Where Thomas Hobbes viewed humanity as being governed by innate qualities that predisposed humans to violence, and to the pursuit of power and glory, the philosopher John Locke had a very different view of the nature of man.  In order to gain a full understanding of how Locke's views of human nature influenced his proposals for proper government, you would need to consider his relatively large body of work in detail.  For our purposes, however, we will focus on a few important texts, each of which you should read carefully, taking notes that will help you answer such questions as:

1.  What was Locke's view of human nature?
2.  What natural laws did Locke believe governed human society?
3.  Given these laws, what should be the proper structure of government?
4.  What was the role of education in the development of human society?

In order to answer these questions, you need to consult the documents in the list below.  The first, excerpts from Locke's most important political work, the Two Treatises on Government.  This work was published after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 brought William of Orange and Mary to the throne, but they
during a period of revolutionary plots against king Charles II [son of the executed king Charles I] in the early 1680s.  In the Treatises, Locke offers his theories on natural law and natural rights.  In his view proper government could only be constructed based upon these laws and rights and any other form of government was tyrannical and therefore could be resisted legally by its subjects/citizens. 

Several of these documents include links to the full text version of that particular document, a link you may wish to pursue depending upon the questions raised in your mind by the excerpts available here.  Also, the final document in this list includes a useful brief biography of Locke's life and work...be sure to read it first!

Source Documents for discussion:

Two Treatises of Government, 1690 [read Of the State of Nature]
Second Treatise on Government, 1690 [excerpt from previous document]
A Letter Concerning Toleration, 1689
Some Thoughts Concerning Education,1692 [read Part I]