"Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours."

— John Locke

John Locke Tee

"Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours."

$24.99

Shipping to most locations included in price. + $1.75 est. tax (US estimate)

Era: Enlightenment

Region: European

John Locke

John Locke

1632 – 1704
Enlightenment European

John Locke (1632–1704) was an English philosopher and physician widely regarded as the father of liberalism and one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers. His Two Treatises of Government (1689) argued against the divine right of kings and established the principles of government by consent, natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and the right of revolution against tyranny. These ideas directly influenced the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man. In his Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), Locke proposed that the mind at birth is a tabula rasa (blank slate) and that all knowledge derives from sensory experience and reflection—a position that challenged the rationalist doctrine of innate ideas and laid the groundwork for modern empiricism. He also wrote influential works on religious tolerance and education, advocating for the development of rational, independent-minded citizens. Locke spent years in political exile in the Netherlands and returned to England after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

View all quotes →