PHIL 4230 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Natural And Legal Rights, Hugo Grotius, Thought Experiment
15 Nov 2015
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John locke 1632-1704 was the among the most influential political philosophers of the modern period. One of his most important claims is that men are by nature free and equal in opposition to the common view at the time that god had made all people natural subject to a monarch. People have rights such as life, liberty, and property. These rights have a foundation that is independent of the laws of any society. Governments exist by the consent of the people in order to protect the rights of the people and promote the public good. Governments that fail to do so can be resisted and replaced with new governments. Locke was also an important defender of the right of revolution. He defended the principle of majority rule and separation of legislative and executive powers (1982 charter of rights and freedoms) Allows us to make amendments to the constitution.
