John Locke (pronounced /ˈlɒk/; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704), known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician. His writings on the theory of social contract influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, and the American revolutionaries. His ideas are mentioned in the American Declaration of Independence.

Locke's theories were usually about identity and the self. Locke thought that we are born without thoughts, and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience.