WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS AND LIMITS OF POLITICAL POWER / TUTORIALOUTLET WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS AND LIMITS OF POLITICAL POW | Page 2

seven central concepts in Locke's
political philosophy.
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• 1. The Law of Nature
2. State of Nature
3. Property
4. Consent, Political Obligation, and the Ends of Government
5. Locke and Punishment
6. Separation of Powers and the Dissolution of Government
7. Toleration
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Related Entries 1. The Law of Nature
Perhaps the most central concept in Locke's political philosophy is his
theory of natural law and natural
rights. The natural law concept existed long before Locke as a way of
expressing the idea that there were
certain moral truths that applied to all people, regardless of the
particular place where they lived or the
agreements they had made. The most important early contrast was
between laws that were by nature, and
thus generally applicable, and those that were conventional and
operated only in those places where the
particular convention had been established. This distinction is
sometimes formulated as the difference
between natural law and positive law. Natural law is also distinct
from divine law in that the latter, in the Christian tradition, normally
referred to