This book is a sympathetic, but not uncritical, examination of Locke's contributions to metaphysics. The topics explored include his ontology, and his views about primary and secondary qualities, essence, substratum, mind and matter, identity, volition, and freedom. This broad survey of Locke's metaphysical theories invites us to see connections between them, and so to see that he is a more systematic thinker than he is often taken to be. For example, we see that his rejection of essentialism leads him to embrace relativism about identity, and that his relativism about identity is crucial i ... More

This book is a sympathetic, but not uncritical, examination of Locke's contributions to metaphysics. The topics explored include his ontology, and his views about primary and secondary qualities, essence, substratum, mind and matter, identity, volition, and freedom. This broad survey of Locke's metaphysical theories invites us to see connections between them, and so to see that he is a more systematic thinker than he is often taken to be. For example, we see that his rejection of essentialism leads him to embrace relativism about identity, and that his relativism about identity is crucial in defending his startlingly original account of personal identity. The author offers solutions to longstanding puzzles about the definition of ‘quality’, the status of secondary qualities, the relation between persons and substances, and more. The book also explores in depth some relatively neglected terrain in the Essay: Locke's philosophy of action. One chapter is devoted to his accounts of agency, freedom and forbearance in the first edition; another details his changes of heart about these matters in the second and later editions.