John Locke's Politics of Moral Consensus

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John Locke's Politics of Moral Consensus
Greg Forster
Hardback (ISBN-13: 9780521842181 | ISBN-10: 0521842182)
Published February 2005
$84.00 (Z)

  The aim of this highly original 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 fresh new account of Locke’s thought will appeal to specialists and advanced students across philosophy, political science, and religious studies.

Greg Forster is a senior research associate at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

GREG FORSTER

The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research

John Locke’s Politics of Moral Consensus

GREG FORSTER

The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research

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© Greg Forster 2005

This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2005

Printed in the United States of America

A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Forster, Greg, 1973–
John Locke’s politics of moral consensus / Greg Forster.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-521-84218-2 (alk. paper)
1. Locke, John, 1632–1704 – Contributions in political science. 2. Locke, John, 1632–1704 – Religion. 3. Political science – Philosophy. 4. Politics and religion. I. Title.
JC153.L87F67   2005
170′.92–dc22       2004054766

ISBN-13 978-0-521-84218-1 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-84218-2 hardback

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the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or
third-party Web sites referred to in this book
and does not guarantee that any content on such
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Contents

Acknowledgments			page ix
List of Abbreviations			xi
1		“Reason Teaches All Mankind, Who Will But Consult It”: John Locke and Moral Consensus	1
2		“Sit Down in Quiet Ignorance”: Locke’s Epistemology of Limits	40
3		“The Candle of the Lord”: Locke’s Rational Faith	84
4		“The Only Foundation of Faith”: Reasonable Christianity	128
5		“The Only True Touchstone of Moral Rectitude”: The Religious Foundations of Morality	167
6		“ ’Tis Reasonable to Think the Cause Is Natural”: Locke’s Religious Eudemonism	194
7		“The Servants of One Sovereign Master”: Authority and Moral Consensus	218
8		“The Opinion of This or That Philosopher Was of No Authority”: Locke and Us	259
Notes			273
Bibliography			309
Index			315

List of Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used in this book to refer to Locke’s major works. Spelling and capitalization have been updated to the current standard, but punctuation has been left undisturbed. Italics have been removed except where they are necessary to convey the meaning of a passage.

E	Followed by Book.Chapter.Section, Page (e.g., E Ⅳ.10.1, 619)
	An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
	Edited by Peter H. Nidditch
	New York: Oxford University Press, 1979.
R	Followed by Paragraph, Page (e.g., R 242, 172–3)
	The Reasonableness Of Christianity as Delivered in the Scriptures
	Edited by George W. Ewing
	Washington, DC: Regnery, 1965.
L	Followed by Paragraph, Page (e.g., L 37, 31)
	A Letter Concerning Toleration
	Edited by Patrick Romanell
	Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice–Hall, 1950.
T	Followed by Treatise.Section, Page (e.g., T I.88, 63)
	Two Treatises of Government
	Edited by Mark Goldie
	London: Everyman, 1993.