Louke Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Louke - Essay Example at, albeit men are naturally born free and equal, they cannot regarded as equal until they have acquired freedom, that is reaching adulthood and maturity and being reasonable enough to understand what freedom is to become an equal. The modern mind can grasp the essense of Locke’s reasoning in his treatise about Paternal Power (except for his language which is quite tenacious) because it relates how a modern family works. Everybody is born free but the child, even born as a free person, still cannot take care of himself and therefore, has to be under the custody of parents to be nourished, care, support and educate until the child reaches maturity and capable of living his or her own life. Meanwhile, the child owe respect and honor to his or her parents. It has to be understood that for Locke, the ultimate good is reason and therefore, man and society should strive to become reasonable. The treatise of John Locke’s Paternal Power began by first arguing that children are born into this state of natural freedom and equality but have not yet developed their faculties to become rationale and thus, cannot effectively dispense or practice such freedom and equality. For Locke, children can only exercise their natural freedom, that is to the freedom to choose without the restraint or imposition of another and to reasonably exercise freedom, when they reach their adulthood and maturity of which he suggested the age of 21. Until then, the child has to be under the parents custody where parents can exercise parental power over the child until the child can take care of his or her own. Such that when children have not yet reach this maturity to become rational to exercise freedom, they have to be under the care, guidance and protection of their parents. They may have been born as equals but until they have acquire their freedom, they cannot be an equal. In is important to stress that for Locke, the mother and father holds equal responsibility in parenting and