Preface
The chapters in this book were in earlier forms all given as papers at a conference held at Christ Church, Oxford in September 1990 and initiated by the Board of the Clarendon Edition of the Works of John Locke. The conference marked both the 300th anniversary of the publication of Locke’s major works and also the new Clarendon Edition, several volumes of which had by then been published. The volumes of the Clarendon Edition to date mark a high point in Locke publication with the establishment over a number of years of texts produced to the highest scholarship that will eventually provide a firm and comprehensive basis for Locke studies into the foreseeable future.
The Clarendon Locke Conference brought together a large number of scholars from around the world whose interest in Locke reflected the many facets of his thought. But it is not surprising that the main focus was on the Essay concerning Human Understanding and the Two Treatises of Government and the present selection, of about one-third of those given at Oxford, in part reflect that. What the conference demonstrated and what it is hoped this volume will show is that Locke remains rewarding not only as a seminal influence on our history but also as a source for relevant insights into our modern predicament.