God Locke And Equality

Publisher Description

Jeremy Waldron, one of the leading political philosophers of our time, looks at the principle of equality in the thought of John Locke, and the extent to which this is grounded in Christian principles. Throughout the text, Waldron discusses contemporary approaches to equality and rival interpretations of Locke, making his book unusually accessible and intellectually exciting. It will be of interest to philosophers, political theorists, lawyers and theologians around the world. Jeremy Waldron is the Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor at Columbia Law School and Director of Columbia's Center for Law and Philosophy. Waldron has taught and lectured at UC Berkeley, Princeton University, Edinburgh University, Oxford University and Cambridge University. His books include The Dignity of Legislation (Cambridge, 1999), The Right to Private Property (Oxford, 1988) and The Law (Routledge, 1990). Waldron contributes to the London Review of Books and the New York Times Book Review.

This concise new study from a senior political philosopher looks at the principle of equality in the thought of John Locke. Throughout the text Jeremy Waldron discusses contemporary approaches to equality and rival interpretations of Locke, and this gives the whole an unusual degree of accessibility and intellectual excitement.

"In this concise and engaging book, Jeremy Waldron explores these questions in the company of the seventeenth-century English philosopher John Locke. Waldron believes that Locke provides us with 'as well-worked-out a theory of basic equality as we have in the canon of political philosophy.' But for us it is a challenging theory because its foundations are unabashedly religious. God has created us equal, says Locke, and a proper grasp of the implications of this equality is inseparable from an understanding of ordinary men and women as creatures of God, created in his image and 'made to last during his, not one anothers Pleasure'." "But this is not just a book about Locke. God, Locke, and Equality discusses contemporary approaches to equality as well as rival interpretations of Locke, and this dual agenda gives the whole book an unusual degree of accessibility and intellectual excitement. Indispensable for Locke scholars and for those who study the foundations of equality and the relation between politics and religion, it will be of interest also to philosophers, political theorists, lawyers, and theologians around the world."--Jacket.

"In this concise and engaging book, Jeremy Waldron explores these questions in the company of the seventeenth-century English philosopher John Locke. Waldron believes that Locke provides us with 'as well-worked-out a theory of basic equality as we have in the canon of political philosophy.' But for us it is a challenging theory because its foundations are unabashedly religious. God has created us equal, says Locke, and a proper grasp of the implications of this equality is inseparable from an understanding of ordinary men and women as creatures of God, created in his image and 'made to last during his, not one anothers Pleasure'." "But this is not just a book about Locke. God, Locke, and Equality discusses contemporary approaches to equality as well as rival interpretations of Locke, and this dual agenda gives the whole book an unusual degree of accessibility and intellectual excitement. Indispensable for Locke scholars and for those who study the foundations of equality and the relation between politics and religion, it will be of interest also to philosophers, political theorists, lawyers, and theologians around the world."--Jacket.

Jeremy Waldron, one of the leading political philosophers of our time, looks at the principle of equality in the thought of John Locke, and the extent to which this is grounded in Christian principles. Throughout the text, Waldron discusses contemporary approaches to equality and rival interpretations of Locke, making his book unusually accessible and intellectually exciting. It will be of interest to philosophers, political theorists, lawyers and theologians around the world. Jeremy Waldron is the Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor at Columbia Law School and Director of Columbia's Center for Law and Philosophy. Waldron has taught and lectured at UC Berkeley, Princeton University, Edinburgh University, Oxford University and Cambridge University. His books include The Dignity of Legislation (Cambridge, 1999), The Right to Private Property (Oxford, 1988) and The Law (Routledge, 1990). Waldron contributes to the London Review of Books and the New York Times Book Review.

John Locke, whose ideas helped give birth to the United States, predicated his political theory on the Hebrew Bible. Why?

The aim of this book is twofold: to explain the reconciliation of religion and politics in the work of John Locke, and to explore the relevance of that reconciliation for politics in our own time. Confronted with deep social divisions over ultimate beliefs, Locke sought to unite society in a single liberal community. Reason could identify divine moral laws that would be acceptable to members of all cultural groups, thereby justifying the authority of government. Greg Forster demonstrates that Locke's theory is liberal and rational but also moral and religious, providing an alternative to the two extremes of religious fanaticism and moral relativism. This account of Locke's thought will appeal to specialists and advanced students across philosophy, political science and religious studies.