Locke's History

Born in 1632 to a respectable family. His father was an attorney and later a soldier. Locke went to Westminster and then Oxford. He was trained in the scholastic tradition, but claimed never to understand or agree with it. His first real intellectual connection seemed to have been Descartes. He spent much time studying medicine and was a close friend to Boyle. These studies and friends surely created a strong, what we would call empirical and experimental, orientation in Locke. Locke was often called upon to help people with medical problems. One time he operated on an abscess in the chest of the Earl of Shaftesbury. As a result, Locke became his personal secretary and moved in the circles of parliament. Shaftesbury was sent to the tower of London more than once, and Locke himself spent several years abroad because of the heat generated by his association with Shaftesbury. Though the Essay took numerous years to produce it was occasioned by a discussion of religion and morality with some friends in 1670 (1670-90 supposedly a finished draft was done in 1679).