One of the greatest British empiricists, Locke claimed that knowledge came from experience, both from external sources, in sensations, and from internal sources, through reflections.
He explained that before we perceive anything, the mind is like a blank sheet of paper, but once we start to perceive everything around it, "simple sensory ideas" arise.
These sensations are worked on by thought, knowledge, belief and doubt, resulting in what Locke called "reflection". The mind is not a mere passive receiver. It classifies and processes all sensations as it forms our knowledge and personality.
Locke defended intellectual freedom and tolerance. It was a precursor to many liberal ideas, which only flourished during the French Enlightenment in the 17th century. Locke criticized the theory of divine right of kings, formulated by the philosopher Thomas Hobbes.
For Locke, sovereignty does not lie in the state, but in the population. He claimed that, to ensure a rule of law, the representatives of the people had to enact the laws and the king or the government to enforce them.
He was the first to present the principle of the division of the three powers, according to which the power of the state is divided between different institutions.
The Legislative Power, or Parliament, the Judiciary Power, or the Court, and the Executive Power, or the Government.
