tion and fled to France until the English Civil War came to an end. His religious ideas based on tolerance were antagonistic to the King, “Owen introduced Locke to the idea of religious freedom and the idea that people should not be punished for having different views of religion” (A Short 1). From this point until his death he remained a prolific writer on myriad aspects of society, government, and philosophy.
According to John Locke “the natural state of humanity is one in which there is no civil or political authority. This condition Locke calls the ‘state of nature’” (Legitimate 1). Unlike Plato and Aristotle who argued that man was nothing more than an animal without living in society, Locke felt “human beings retain their full personhood (humanity in the moral sense) even when they are not a part of any society” (Legitimate 1). This is why Locke believed the only peaceful and legitimate government that can emerge is one based on the will and consent of those governed who must give up their natural rights in the state of nature (absolute freedom to pursue happiness and absolute power to punish offenses to natural rights) in exchange for the following powers to be transferred by mutual consent of the masses to a political authority:
Legitimate Power—Establish a common body of laws for regulating social interaction.
Judicial Power—Establish a neutral of impartial authority to resolve disputes.
Executive Power—Establish an executive authority to carry out judicial decisions and redress violations of the laws.
Locke believed the right to property was a God-given one and that the individual body is a property only the owner has a right to concerning their own happiness (exemplified in the quote opening this essay). In this way, he would help answer the abortion deb
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