An Approach to Political Philosophy: Locke in Contexts (Ideas in Context Book 25) by James Tully (PDF)

Description

An Approach to Political Philosophy: Locke in Context brings together Professor Tully’s most important and innovative statements on Locke in a systematic treatment of the latter’s thought that is at once contextual and critical. Each essay has been rewritten and expanded for this volume, and each seeks to understand a theme of Locke’s political philosophy by interpreting it in light of the complex contexts of early modern European political thought and practice. These historical studies are then used in a variety of ways to gain critical perspectives on the assumptions underlying current debates in political philosophy and the history of political thought. The themes treated include government, toleration, discipline, property, aboriginal rights, individualism, power, labour, self-ownership, community, progress, liberty, participation, and revolution.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Put simply, _Locke in Contexts_ is far to erudite for the average reader (including myself). I’ve read a good deal of history and a fair amount of economics, but his book was, for the most part, over my head. Professor Tully seems to know his subject extremely well, but he is not, in this work, communicating to the layman. The book is full of turgid, academic prose such as:”The first feature of any new way of governing is the rejection of any theory that assent or belief is governed by a natural disposition (or telic faculty) to the true or the good. This theory of a naturally dispositional conscience is replaced by an account of the conscience as completely non-dispositional power of judgement, and of the mind as a blank tablet, indifferent to true or false, good or evil.”Yikes! It takes a machette to hack through text like that. John Locke was an important figure in the pre-Enlightenment era of political discourse and many of his theories greatly influenced the thinking of the founding fathers of the United States, but this isn’t the way to learn about him (unless you’re a professional in the field).Once in a while Professor Tully puts over a clear and concise idea in an approachable way, such as, “Locke’s innovation here is to argue that the fundamental natural law is not self-preservation, but `the preservation of mankind’.” These lucid episodes are to far apart for real satisfaction, however, and I do not reccomend this book to any layperson in history or economics.Lastly, Professor Tully is very much a political liberal. Those with centrist or conservative leanings may well find him irritating in spots.

⭐I bought this book hoping to receive what I thought was James Tully’s Locke in Contexts, ISBN 0-521-43638-9. That is indeed the cover of the book I received. However, inside this cover and to my utmost surprise, there was another book titled Making Votes Count, from Gary Cox, ISBN 0-521-58527-9. Whose fault is it? Cambridge University Press or the bookseller? Please beware that many book retailers do not supervise the merchandise they offer.Ah… in case you wonder, returning the book is out of the question since I live in Venezuela, a country with strong foreign currency control laws and where all mail,aside from extremely expensive courier services, is unreliable. I therefore must forcefully trust the seller’s ethical principles.

⭐This book is written for other scholars, not for a general audience. The other reviewer is right that it is not an “easy read,” but it was not intended to be. As a scholarly treatise on Locke, it is an excellent work. In particular, the introductory chapter on Locke’s political philosophy is simply one of the best brief introductions, which takes into account the context in which Locke wrote. In addition, the chapter on “Governing Conduct,” although it is oddly framed as a critique of Nietzsche and Foucault, is an excellent account of Locke’s views on how humans are habituated into conduct and beliefs. I highly recommend this work for anyone doing advanced work on Locke. If you are beginner in early modern political philosophy, there are more accessible texts available.

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