John Locke (1632-1704) was an English philosopher and physician who, after Sir Francis Bacon, was one of the first of the British empiricists and an important contributor to Social Contract Theory. In this fine biography, Thomas Fowler writes of Locke's influence on the history of progress and of civilization. "In an age of excitement and prejudice, he set men the example of thinking calmly and clearly...At a time when the chains of dogma were far tighter, and the penalties of attempting to loosen them far more stringent, than it is now easy to conceive, he raised questions which stirred the very depths of human thought. And all this in a spirit so candid, so tolerant, so liberal, and so unselfish, that he seemed to be writing not for his own party or his own times, but for the future of knowledge and of mankind." (Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.)