Locke, Wollostonecraft

The arguments of John Locke, a renowned enlightenment thinker, and Mary Wollstonecraft both sparked the construction of two important documents in United States history. Locke’s ideas regarding life, liberty and property were the basis of the U.S. Constitution. Wollstonecraft, in her own right, could be credited with her ideas on women’s rights as they applied to the Seneca Falls Convention. These authors had similar ideas that concerned the natural rights of an individual and equality. However, their ideas weren’t necessarily identical. Through an exploration of the two idealist’s views, one can determine how relevant their ideas are in today’s society.

Locke, was an advocate of the law of equality, which stated, “...all the power and jurisdiction reciprocal, no one having more than another (Locke, 8).” No man was born with the right of complete liberty, in the sense that one is not at liberty to take his neighbors possessions without being granted the right to do so. Locke also claimed that no man could force another to be subservient to his needs. “And being furnished with like faculties, sharing all in one community of nature, there can not be supposed any such subordination among us, that may authorize us to destroy one another, as if we were made for one another’s uses, as the inferior ranks of creatures are for our’s (Locke, 9).” With this, Locke is fortifying the simple idea that if all men are created equally, one man should not exercise the ability to make another his subordinate. Moreover, no man by nature is placed on a higher pedestal than any other. However, he does cite examples where this point can be argued against. In the case of children Locke believes that they lack the necessary experiences to make their own decisions and thus, should be under their parents jurisdiction. In so far as to they their parents were once infants and weren’t born in the state of equality, nor were they. He states that this jurisdiction is only temporary by making a comparison. It is illustrated by the following, “ The bonds of this subjection are like swaddling clothes they are wrapt up in, and supported by, in the weakness of their infancy: age and reason as they grow up, loosen them, till at length they drop quite off, and leave a man at his own free disposal (Locke, 31). In this example, Locke shows how a child needs guidance until he or she is mature and experienced enough to bare the responsibility of equality.

Wollstonecraft argues many points that are parallel to Locke’s ideas, but not identical. She agrees with Locke in that everyone should be equal, but adds that all men and women should be equal in their opportunities, responsibilities and intelligence. However, they are treated with insignificance, given no freedom to think on their own.To show this Wollstonecraft says, “Women are, in common with men, rendered weak and luxurious by the relaxing pleasures which wealth procures; but added to this they are made slaves to their persons, and must render them alluring that man may lend them his reason to guide their tottering steps aright (Wollstonecraft, 180).” Her belief is that women break away from this common idea and begin to learn, as men have learned, to construct their own ideas and thoughts. She is well aware of the reliant attitude women have towards their husbands, and knows that women cannot practice their right to equity until they think on their own. Wollstonecraft believes that people (women and children in particular) should be taught how to think, not what to think. Through this process, one learns from personal experience. Wollstonecraft shows this by saying, “..when he only asks a question instead of seeking for information, and then relies implicitly on the answer he receives (Wollstonecraft, 198).” This particular example shows that telling an individual what to think isn’t conducive to learning how to think. It perpetuates the idea that as long as one reaches a conclusion, and the goal is complete, the process is not important. Applying this idea to another aspect, Wollstonecraft argues that a woman must obtain the knowledge sufficient to raise a child. Regarding this, she says, “To be a good mother - a woman must have sense, and that independence of mind which few women possess who are taught to depend entirely on their husbands (Wollstonecraft, 189).” She makes it obvious that she believes children need guidance from their parents. Another reason for the increasing knowledge of the female mind is their duty to motherhood. “As the care of children in their infancy is one of the grand duties annexed to the female character by nature, this duty would afford many forcible arguments for strengthening the female understanding, if it were probably considered (Wollstoncraft, 188).”

These two idealists