The English philosopher and political theorist John Locke began the empiricist tradition and thus initiated the greatest age of British philosophy. He attempted to center philosophy on an analysis of the extent and capabilities of the human mind.

John Locke was born on August 29, 1632, in Wrington, in Somerset, where his mother's family resided. She died during his infancy, and Locke was raised by his father, a small-town attorney. John was tutored at home because of his delicate health. He then went to Christ Church, Oxford, where in 1658 he was elected senior student and taught Greek and moral philosophy. He changed his subject to medicine and received a license to practice. Here Locke met Robert Boyle, the distinguished scientist and one of the founders of the Royal Society, and, under Boyle's direction, took up study of natural science. Finally, in 1668, Locke was made a fellow of the Royal Society...