Hall of Fame

John Locke (1632 - 1704)

Locke remains the greatest philosopher of his age and laid the foundations for empiricism and the enlightenment view of knowledge, politics and education. Breaking free from medieval scholasticism and, disaffected by the educational habits of his day, he put forward a sophisticated theory of education built, not around the transmission of information, but the shaping of habits and character around wisdom and virtue. These theories, grounded in his liberal, political philosophy, are written in Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1692). The book was widely translated and became a manual for education among the upper classes for most of 18th century.

Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1692)

The book is a series of very practical methods for encouraging good habits and character right down to details on curiosity, games, language learning, dancing etc. He recommends educational methods that focus on example and practice, rather than the teaching of information and principles. In this sense, it is not learning that matters, but the establishment of good habits. It is repeated practice that instils these worthy behaviours so that they become instinctive. The concrete rather than the abstract is recommended for the reinforcement of such good habits.

The learner must not be coerced into learning but made to feel as if it is in their own interest and that they are acting from their own free-will - not that children should be spoilt. For those of a vocational bent he recommends practical skills and understanding. Beyond this, his focus is on a healthy mind that has the basics in reading, writing, arithmetic and a knowledge of literature along with the natural and social sciences. The arts, however, he regarded as either useless or dangerous. Detailed scholarly study he felt should be left to those who want to become scholars.

Locke does not recommend school for those who can afford tutors and sets great store on the enthusiasm of parents and the family in general. Schools, he thought, merely perpetuate bad company and bad behaviour habits. A child is a member of both a family and nation with the individual having the right to life and liberty. It is the idea of a free mind that uses the power of reason to become a contributory, autonomous adult in a free society that marks out this educational theory based on political belief.

Conclusion

It is the sweeping scope of his thinking that impresses, couching education in a political and epistemological theory that was to have a profound influence in the world. His thoughts on education, although influential, are weakened by the fact that he saw the mind as a blank slate. He was also a product of the age making a massive distinction between the education of Gentlemen and the masses. However, his observations and general views on education point towards a tradition that focused on character and autonomy within society, rather than the transmission of knowledge.

Bibliography

Aaron, R. (1971). John Locke. Oxford: The Oxford University Press

Cranston, M. (1969). John Locke (rev. ed. Green and Co., Ltd. London: Longmans

Deighton, L.C. (Ed.) (1971). The encyclopedia of education, volume 6. New York: The Macmillan Company and the Free Press.

John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education and of the Conduct of the Understanding, ed. by Ruth W. Grant and Nathan Tarcov (Hackett, 1996)

Tarcov, N. (1984). Locke's education for liberty. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Yolton, J. W. (1968) John Locke and the way of ideas. Oxford: The Oxford University Press