A History of Western Philosophy

Liberalism was a sociopolitical perspective that developed mainly in England and the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries. It centered on respect for individual rights (especially property rights), religious toleration, and commerce and industry. It favored democracy and the middle class instead of monarchy (especially the doctrine of the “divine right of kings”) and aristocracy. Liberalism distrusted the hereditary principle and instead emphasized education and equal rights.

Russell sees two forms of liberalism taking shape during this period: a moderate and an extreme form. Moderate liberalism is represented by John Locke, the American Founding Fathers, and the French encyclopedists. The more extreme form of liberalism took control in France during the French Revolution. Inspired by Rousseau, French liberalism took strength from the Romantic movement and nationalism. Russell sees this form of liberalism as tending toward extreme individualism, subjectivism, and anarchy; he argues that it ultimately developed into the opposite of liberalism in the form of 20th-century totalitarianism.

Although John Locke (1632-1704) is best known as a social and political philosopher, he also wrote on topics of general philosophy. His ideas on epistemology (theory of knowledge) are contained in Essay Concerning Human Understanding.

Locke is considered the founder of the school of philosophy known as