irst great empirical thinkers. Politically, he bases his ideas on a theory of natural law which is discoverable through the process of reason.
In general, Locke finds that natural rights arise from a condition known as "a state of perfect freedom," or nature. In this state of nature, "the execution of the law of nature is. . . put into every man's hand, whereby every one has a right to punish the transgression of that law to such a degree as may hinder its violation."2
This, in essence, sets the stage for political power. According to Locke, people lived together, after being born cooperative and with a sense of goodness, in a state of _______________________
2 John Locke, Two Treatises of Government, (London: Cambridge University Press, 1967), Chapter III. nature accord
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