A Letter Concerning Toleration

by John Locke

Overview

A Letter Concerning Toleration is the empiricist John Locke's argument for the separation of religion and government. The letter asserts that only those churches allowing toleration should be present in society, for only then will unrest be quelled. Although Locke wrote in reaction to the ubiquitous control of the Catholic Church, his concerns continue to be valid and his arguments worthy of study.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781495323171
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	01/26/2014
Pages:	66
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.14(d)

About the Author

John Locke (1632-1704), widely known as the Father of Classical Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
John Locke: A Brief Chronology
A Note on the Text

A Letter Concerning Toleration

Appendix A: Additional Writings on Toleration and Religion by Locke

1. From An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689)
2. From The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)

Appendix B: Locke’s Contemporaries on Religious Toleration

1. From William Penn, The Great Case of Liberty of Conscience Once More Briefly Debated and Defended (1670)
2. From Baruch Spinoza, Theological-Political Treatise (1670)
3. From Pierre Bayle, A Philosophical Commentary on These Words of the Gospel, Luke 14:23, “Compel them to come in, that my house may be full” (1686)
4. From Samuel von Pufendorf, Of the Nature and Qualification of Religion in Reference to Civil Society (1687)

Appendix C: Locke and His Critics

1. From Thomas Long, The Letter for Toleration Deciphered, and the Absurdity and Impiety of an Absolute Toleration Demonstrated (1689)
2. From Jonas Proast, The Argument of the Letter Concerning Toleration, Briefly Considered and Answered (1690)
3. From Philanthropus [John Locke], A Second Letter Concerning Toleration (1690)

Suggestions for Further Reading

Editorial Reviews

My guess is that this will shortly become the most used edition of Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration. The editor has an excellent introduction in which he describes the social context of the letter and the place it occupies in Locke’s thought. He has done a fine job of bringing up to date the standard translation of Locke’s Latin. And it is very useful to have, as an appendix, a few passages on toleration from Locke’s other writings and some of the criticisms lodged at the time against Locke’s views. All together, this is a fine publication of an important document in the history of religious toleration.” — Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale University

“This edition stands out as a superb pedagogic resource. The edition is especially valuable because it assembles many contributions to the debate on religious toleration by Locke’s contemporaries, including selections from the exchange between Locke and his most forceful critic Jonas Proast. It is very convenient to have these materials collected for the first time in a single volume. The edition will prove indispensable for courses that investigate the intellectual origins of religious toleration in the West.” — Sam Black, Simon Fraser University

From the Publisher

"This edition stands out as a superb pedagogic resource. The translation is highly readable and accompanied by illuminating footnotes. The edition is especially valuable because it assembles many contributions to the debate on religious toleration by Locke's contemporaries, including selections from the exchange between Locke and his most forceful critic Jonas Proast. It is very convenient to have these materials collected for the first time in a single volume. The edition will prove indispensable for courses that investigate the intellectual origins of religious toleration in the West."

Sam Black

"My guess is that this will shortly become the most used edition of Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration. The editor has an excellent introduction in which he describes the social context of the letter and the place it occupies in Locke's thought. He has done a fine job of bringing up to date the standard translation of Locke's Latin. And it is very useful to have, as an appendix, a few passages on toleration from Locke's other writings and some of the criticisms lodged at the time against Locke's views. All together, this is a fine publication of an important document in the history of religious toleration."

Nicholas Wolterstorff