John Locke, Thoughts Concerning Education

Mark Goldie (University of Cambridge)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

In the eighteenth century Locke's

Thoughts Concerning Education

was as widely read as his

Essay Concerning Human Understanding

, and probably more so than his

Two Treatises of Government

. The book appealed to parents grown suspicious of the drudge Latinity of the grammar schools and the clerical pedantry of the universities. Published in 1693,

Some Thoughts

was dedicated to his friend the Whig MP Edward Clarke, for whom it had been drafted in a series of private letters from 1684 onwards. Locke amended successive editions until the fifth, which appeared in 1705. The book concerns the education of gentlemen's sons, aiming to “produce virtuous, useful, and able men in their distinct callings”. Locke assumes a two-class society, comprising the gentry and the rest, and a patriarchal…

1183 words

Citation: Goldie, Mark. "Thoughts Concerning Education". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 June 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8308, accessed 19 March 2024.]

8308 Thoughts Concerning Education 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.