In Locke in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of Locke's life and ideas, and explains their influence on man's struggle to understand his existence in the world. The book also includes selections from Locke's writings; a brief list of suggested reading for those who wish to push further; and chronologies that place Locke within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy.

The "Long Debate" on the nature of truth, the scale of real values, the life one should aspire to live, the character of justice, the sources of law, and the terms of civic and political life is encompassed by the name philosophy. Three persistent themes--understood as problems--are knowledge, conduct, and governance, on which there is a storehouse of insights, some so utterly persuasive as to have shaped thought itself. Beginning with Plato and Aristotle,...

"Exploring more than 100 big ideas on topics as diverse as the rule of law, the extent of liberty, and the justification of warfare, [this book] takes you on a journey through the history of politics, from the influential theories of ancient Greece, Rome, and Asia to modern concepts voiced by today's brightest political thinkers."--Front jacket flap.