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John Locke (1632-1704) John Locke was born at Wrington, a village in Somerset, on August 29, 1632. He entered Westminster school in 1646, and passed to Christ Church, Oxford, as a junior student, in 1652. The official studies of the university were uncongenial to him; he would have preferred to learn philosophy from Descartes instead of from Aristotle. He was elected to a senior studentship in 1659, and, in the three or four years following, he took part in the …

…refuted the concept on "innate ideas" and insisted that all human knowledge was of empiric origin. John Locke did not agree with political democracy. “Life, liberty, and property” were natural rights and property meant that the propertied class was protected and had the right to exercise political authority. Quotes: "I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts." -John Locke "The mind furnishes the understanding with ideas" -John Locke (Bk. 2:1:5)