John Locke (1632-1704) one of the greatest English philosophers of the late seventeenth & early eighteenth century argued in his masterpiece An Essay Concerning Human Understanding that our knowledge is founded in experience & reaches us principally through our senses; but its message has been curiously misunderstood In this book John Dunn shows how Locke arrived at his theory of knowledge & how his exposition of the liberal values of toleration & responsible government formed the backbone of enlightened European thought of the eighteenth century ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable