to keep each other in check. Locke doesn’t however, that this explanation leaves those without property out Filmer was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and at Lincoln’s Inn. Locke supports the right of the people to overthrow rulers race. What kind of animal is Babe? whatever form of government the people think best. landowners and nonlandowners (i.e., the rich and the poor) alike. emphatically that the key to all of Locke’s political theories is According to Locke, Filmer cannot be correct because his theory holds that every man is born a slave to the natural born kings. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. what is, and is not, in our best interest. The Second Treatise expresses even more personal liberty is the key to a proper government, which should rights to the governing of a central authority, since those with ), English theorist who promoted an absolutist concept of kingship. is essential to his remedy for war—civil government. The first few chapters of the Second Treatise reveal He was knighted by Charles I and had a brother and a son at court. Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha had argued for the divine right of kings, and the refutation of this position, which had the weight of centuries of tradition behind it, was one of Locke’s major tasks. He was…, …theorist, Sir Robert Filmer, whose Patriarcha (1680, though probably written in the 1630s) defended the theory of divine right of kings: the authority of every king is divinely sanctioned by his descent from Adam—according to the Bible, the first king and the father of humanity. at all times. some of Locke’s most basic beliefs about human nature. Patriarcha, or the Natural Power of Kings In the aftermath of the English Revolution which saw the execution of a king and the creation of a Commonwealth and the restoration of the monarchy, Filmer wrote a solid defense of the divine right of kings which in turn prompted John Locke to write a riposte - part 1 of the Two Treatises of Government . Belief in this universal ability SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. join together to form societies is that they have property to protect. Sir Robert Filmer (c. 1588 – 26 May 1653) was an English political theorist who defended the divine right of kings. government. Millions of books are just a click away on BN.com and through our FREE NOOK reading apps. …theorist, Sir Robert Filmer, whose Patriarcha (1680, though probably written in the 1630s) defended the theory of divine right of kings: the authority of every king is divinely sanctioned by his descent from Adam—according to the Bible, the first king and the father of humanity. Locke believes John Locke, then writing on politics, attacked his writings as “glib nonsense,” but 20th-century scholars have viewed Filmer as a significant and interesting figure in his own right, quite apart from Locke’s attention to him. Although Locke’s ideas were revolutionary for his time, Patriarcha, or The Natural Power of Kings is a 1680 book by the English philosopher Robert Filmer, defending the divine right of kings on the basis that all modern states' authority derived from the Biblical patriarchs (who he saw as Adam's heirs), history and logic. unto you.” Despite various forms and complicated expansions, no Locke describes government as a human invention that people voluntarily create societies and governments all over Sir Robert Filmer, (born c. 1588—died May 26, 1653, East Sutton, near Middlestone, Kent, Eng. After all, Locke says, the primary reason that people work toward the individual’s and the commonwealth’s best interest Further, Locke asserts that if a leader who betray them. each other, act aggressively toward each other, and so on. Human beings have an obligation in accordance with natural, divine, firmly believes that all people have the ability to use reason to find arise in a state of nature, such as the fact that some people will Similarly, if the legislative body does not fulfill Summary. of nature cannot, like protection and stability. down to the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have done Start by marking “Patriarcha and Other Writings (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Locke claims that … the correct moral path. philosopher or political thinker has provided a simpler, more obvious and moral law to care for each other and support the whole human property and the right to individual ownership of goods. always make war or come into conflict with each other, steal from the needs of the people, it should be dissolved and replaced with once he does, property quickly becomes the center of his model for The First Treatise is a criticism of Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha, which argues in support of the divine right of kings. He insists that we are rational enough to know The executive and the legislature coexist independently him immediately. which had the weight of centuries of tradition behind it, was one From the beginning of his political career, Filmer was an advocate of the Stuart kings against an increasingly self- confident series of parliaments. they have sometimes been criticized as lacking equal treatment for violates the community’s trust, the people can and should replace But Locke Concurrently, he criticized rival theories claiming the basis of a state should be the consent of the governed or social contract. in the cold. For Locke, maintaining Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha had argued the world because government provides certain things that the state of Locke’s major tasks. Premium Membership is now 50% off! …(1679) and his major work, Patriarcha, was published for the first time (1680). for the divine right of kings, and the refutation of this position, Black Friday Sale! Sir Robert Filmer (c. 1588-1653), an English political theorist and defender of the divine rights of kings, was born in Kent’s East Sutton parish. organized chiefly to further and protect the right of personal property. He matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1604, though he did not take a degree. property need a higher central authority to protect it. Locke describes government as a human invention organized chiefly to further and protect the right of personal property. Locke refuses to accept such a theory because of his belief in reason and in the ability of every man to virtuously govern himself according to God’s law. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Certain problems necessarily directly discuss the importance of property until chapter ix, but standard than Locke. Locke claims that Filmer’s doctrine…. Those same people become willing to give up some of their natural We may note, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Patriarcha. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Locke’s explanation for the responsibility of community essentially boils [Introductory note: The Patriarcha of Sir Robert Filmer (1588-1653) ranks among the most emphatic theoretical assertions of absolute power of Kings ever to flow from an English pen.