What did John Locke mean by natural law?

Answer 1

John Locke (August 29, 1632 – October 28, 1704) was an influential English philosopher.
He is equally important as a social contract theorist, as he developed an alternative to the Hobbesian state of nature and argued a government could only be legitimate if it received the consent of the governed through a social contract and protected the natural rights of life, liberty, and estate. If such consent was not given, argued Locke, citizens had a right of rebellion.
His writings, along with those of many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, influenced the American revolutionaries as reflected in the American Declaration of Independence.
Locke uses the word property in both broad and narrow senses. In a broad sense, it covers a wide range of human interests and aspirations; more narrowly, it refers to material goods. He argues property is a natural right and it is derived from labour.

Locke believed that ownership of property is created by the application of labor to it. According to his theory of ownership, humans make objects into property by applying labor. In addition, property precedes government and government cannot "dispose of the estates of the subjects arbitrarily." Scholars believe that Karl Marx later adapted Locke's theory on property in his philosophies.
He also had an influence on the US Constitution in the Preamble. He also developed the Lockeian social contract which included the state of nature, government with the consent of the governed and all the natural instincts.
VR

Answer 2

Natural law (Latin jus naturale) is law that exists independently of the positive law of a given political order, society or nation-state. It is simultaneously a legal philosophy or perspective, and a genre of law - depending on the jurisdiction in which the term is used. The theory of natural law was introduced by Aristotle before being further developed within a Christian context by St Thomas Aquinas.

As a genre, natural law is the law of nature—that is, the principle that some things are as they are, because that is how they are. This use is especially valid in Scotland, where "natural law" operates as a genre of law parallel to both civil and criminal law, and its discussion is not limited to human beings.

As a philosophical perspective, especially in the English and American legal traditions, the principles of natural law are expressed, obliquely or openly, in such documents as Magna Carta and the United States Declaration of Independence, when rights are discussed, explicitly or implicitly, as being inherent. For example, the expression "...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..." expresses such a right that is discussed as being inherent. The words that immediately precede that expression: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, ..." express a natural law philosophy.

Answer 3

Sorry to tell you this, but you are confusing Anselm argument on natural law with John Locke. John Locke philosophy is based on natural knowledge, creation, and the ability to have faith in God.

I do believed Anselm is the philosopher who used natural law to presuppose and argues that miracle violates the law of the natural way of things. If you can find a book on Anselm, read the part about the argument on miracles and you will see what I mean.

Jonh Locke, however, is one of Socrates follower where he believes that our ability to know things are not learned but are due to our innate abilities. You can easily clarify this by reading section on Menu (where Socrates used a geometry problem on squares to prove his belief) published by Plato himself who was a fine student of Socrates. Good enough, no?

Answer 4

Natural consequences of either action or non-action in respect to human nature.

Answer 5

equal rights for ppl. being born with a clean slate. equal oppurtunites