Review of Locke by Edward Feser

This short book on Locke seeks to be an introduction to his philosophy as a whole, taking in the ontology and epistemology as well as his political philosophy and the writings on toleration. The book is a distinctly polemical introduction, contrasting Locke’s own views with the views of medieval Scholasticism, concluding that the Scholastics rather than Locke ultimately offer the better solutions to the various problems dealt with. This makes the book unusual among works on Locke. Commentators are inclined to assume a Whiggish approach to the history of philosophy and when they are critical of Locke’s views it is usually in the light of the later tradition. We are used to being told that we should turn to, say, Kant to find a better approach to a certain problem, but not so used to being urged to go back to Thomas Aquinas.