Johann Gutenberg

The Gutenberg Galaxy and Project Gutenberg commemorate Gutenberg's name. As to an example of manners, if you seek that, you have it in the Gospels; of vices, to wish you have one nowhere; if mortality, certainly, (and may it profit thee,) thou hast one here and everywhere.". There are many statues of Gutenberg in Germany, one of the more famous being a work by Thorvaldsen, in Mainz, which is also home to the Gutenberg Museum. Let his vices be buried together. The term incunabulum refers to a western printed book produced between the first work of Gutenberg and the end of the year 1500. His virtues, indeed, if he had any, were too little for him to propose as matter of praise to himself, or as an example to thee. Gutenberg's inventions are sometimes considered the turning point from the Mediaeval Era to the Early Modern Period. This thou will learn from his writings, which will show thee everything else concerning him, with greater truth, than the suspected praises of an epitaph.

Literacy also increased as a result. Bred a scholar, he made his learning subservient only to the cause of truth. It fed the growing Renaissance, and since it greatly facilitated scientific publishing, was a major factor in originating the scientific revolution. If you ask what kind of a man he was, he answers that he lived content with his own small fortune. Although Gutenberg was financially unsuccessful in his lifetime, his invention spread quickly, and news and books began to travel across Europe far faster than before. (translated from the Latin) "Stop Traveller! Near this place lieth John Locke. The Bible was not Gutenberg's first printed work, for he produced approximately two dozen editions of Ars Minor, a portion of Aelius Donatus's schoolbook on Latin grammar, the first edition of which is believed to have been printed between 1451 and 1452. Most scholars reject these criticisms, however, questioning the extent of his impact upon the Fundamental Constititution and his detractors' interpretations of his work in general.

As of 2003, the Gutenberg Bible census includes 11 complete copies on vellum, 1 copy of the New Testament only on vellum, 48 substantially complete integral copies on paper, with another divided copy on paper, and an illiminated page (the Bagford fragment). Because of his opposition to aristocracy and slavery in his major writings, he is accused of hypocrisy, or of caring only for the liberty of English capitalists. The Gutenberg Bibles surviving today are sometimes called the oldest surviving books printed with movable type, although the oldest surviving book was published in Korea in 1377. Some see his statements on unenclosed property as having justified the displacement of the Native Americans. Gutenberg was also known to spend what little money he had on alcohol, so the Archbishop arranged for him to be paid in food and lodging, instead of coin. Detractors note his participation in drafting the Fundamental Constitution of the Carolinas while Shaftesbury's secretary, which established a feudal aristocracy and gave a master absolute power over his slaves. Gutenberg was subsidized by the Archbishop of Mainz until his death. Appraisals of Locke have therefore been tied to appraisals of the United States and of liberalism in general.

So, while Gutenberg ran a print shop until just before his death in Mainz in 1468, Fust became the first printer to publish a book with his name on it. In particular, the Declaration of Independence drew upon many 18th century political ideas, derived from the works of both Locke and Montesquieu. Fust sued, and the court's ruling not only effectively bankrupted Gutenberg, it awarded control of the type used in his Bible, plus much of the printing equipment, to Fust. His remarks concerning liberty and the social contract later influenced the written works of Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers of the United States. The money Gutenberg earned at the fair was not enough to pay Fust back for his investments. Locke exercised a profound influence on subsequent philosophy and politics. The one copy of the Biblia Sacra dated 1455 went to Paris and was dated by the binder. Once government is dissolved, the people are free to erect a new one and to oppose those who claim authority under the old one, i.e., to revolt.

This was the equivalent of approximately three years' wages for an average clerk, but it was significantly cheaper than a handwritten Bible, which could take a single monk 20 years to transcribe. A government betrays its trust when the laws are violated or when the trust of prerogative is abused. In 1455 Gutenberg demonstrated the power of the printing press by selling copies of a two-volume Bible (Biblia Sacra) for 300 florins each. All government is therefore a fiduciary trust: when that trust is betrayed, government dissolves. His first efforts enabled him to mass-produce indulgences, printed slips of paper sold by the Catholic Church to remit the temporal punishments in Purgatory for sins committed in this life. As law is sometimes incapable of providing for the safety and increase of society, man may acquiesce in being done certain extralegal benefits (prerogative). Knowing that wood-block type involved a great deal of time and expense to reproduce because it had to be hand carved, Gutenberg concluded that metal type could be reproduced much more quickly once a single mould had been fashioned. In practice, the law of nature is ignored and so government is necessary; this can be created only by the consent of the governed, which can be had only to a commonwealth of laws.

Gutenberg began experimenting with metal typography after he had moved from his native town of Mainz to Strassburg (then in Germany, now Strasbourg, France) around 1430. Through the law of nature, which Locke describes as "reason," we are able to understand why we must respect the natural rights of others (including the right to property for which one has labored). Gutenberg was a poor businessman, and made little money from his printing system. Individuals have rights, and their duties are defined in terms of protecting their own rights and respecting those of others. Gutenberg certainly introduced efficient methods into book production, leading to a boom in the production of texts in Europe, in large part due to the popularity of the Gutenberg Bibles, the first mass-produced work, starting on February 23, 1455. Locke posits a state of nature as the proper starting point for examining politics. Some also claim Dutchman Laurens Coster as the first European to invent movable type. He is therefore best known as the popularizer of natural rights and the right of revolution.

It is not clear whether Gutenberg knew of these existing techniques or invented them independently. The Second Treatise, or On Civil Government, purports on its face to justify the Glorious Revolution by 1) developing a theory of legitimate government and 2) arguing that the people may remove a regime that violates that theory; Locke leaves it to his readers to understand that James II of England had done so. The Koreans and Chinese knew about movable metal types at the time, but due to the complex nature of the Chinese writing system, printed material was not as abundant as that of Renaissance Europe. The First Treatise attacks Sir Robert Filmer, who was the author of the first criticism of Thomas Hobbes and of a peculiar theory of the Divine Right of Kings. Block printing, whereby individual sheets of paper were pressed into wooden blocks with the text and illustrations carved in, was in use in Europe and East Asia long before Gutenberg. Book III is concerned with language, and Book IV with knowledge, including intuition, mathematics, moral philosophy, natural philosophy ("science"), faith and opinion. . What he says here has shaped our thought and provoked debate ever since.

Gutenberg was born in the German city of Mainz, as the son of a merchant named Friele Gensfleisch zur Laden, who adopted the surname "zum Gutenberg" after the name of the neighborhood into which the family had moved. In Chapter xxvii of book II Locke discusses personal identity, and the idea of a person. By combining these elements into a production system, he allowed for the rapid printing of written materials and an information explosion in Renaissance Europe. Locke also distinguishes between the truly existing primary qualities of bodies, like shape, motion and the arrangement of minute particles, and the secondary qualities that are "powers to produce various sensations in us" (Essay, II.viii.10) such as "red" and "sweet." These secondary qualities, Locke claims, are dependent on the primary qualities. Tradition credits him with inventing movable type in Europe, an improvement on the block printing already in use there. Book II of the Essay sets out Locke's theory of ideas, including his distinction between passively acquired simple ideas, such as "red," "sweet," "round," etc., and actively built complex ideas, such as numbers, causes and effects, abstract ideas, ideas of substances, identity, and diversity. Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (circa 1398 – February 3, 1468), a German metal-worker and inventor, achieved fame for his contributions to the technology of printing during the 1440s, including a type metal alloy and oil-based inks, a mould for casting type accurately, and a new kind of printing press based on presses used in wine-making. His adherence to this doctrine is what marks him out as an empiricist rather than a rationalist such as his critic Leibniz, who wrote the New Essays on Human Understanding.

World Almanac's Ten Most Influential People of the Second Millennium. In the Essay, Locke critiques the philosophy of innate ideas and builds a theory of the mind and knowledge that gives priority to the senses and experience. William Caxton. It was therefore much more of a commentary on the exclusion crisis than it was a justification of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, though no one doubts that Locke substantively revised it to serve this latter purpose. Francysk Skaryna. Though the exact dates of the composition of the Two Treatises are a matter of dispute, it is clear that the bulk of the writing took place in the period from 1679-1682. Incunabulum. It was finally published in December 1689.

Typography. The Essay was commenced in 1671, and as Locke himself described, was written in fits and starts over the next 18 years. Printing. Locke is best known for two works, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Two Treatises of Government. By adopting a latitudinarian theological stance, Locke believed, the national church could serve as an instrument for social harmony. Locke became a strong supporter of the Church of England.

He recoiled, however, from what he saw as the divisive character of some non-conformist sects. Locke's upbringing among non-conformist Protestants made him sensitive to differing theological viewpoints. Religious toleration within Great Britain was a subject of great interest for Locke; he wrote several subsequent essays in its defense prior to his death. Locke's first major published work was A Letter Concerning Toleration.

Although widely regarded as an important influence on modern ideas of political liberty, Locke did not always express ideas that match those of the present day. The influences of Locke's Puritan upbringing and his Whig political affiliation expressed themselves in his published writings. Constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy were in their infancy during Locke's time. He did not quite see the Act of Union of 1707, though the office of King of England and King of Scotland had been held by the same person for some time.

Events that happened during Locke's lifetime include the English Restoration and the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London. Locke never married or had any children. He died in 1704 after a prolonged decline in health, and is buried in the churchyard of the village of High Laver, east of Harlow in Essex, where he had lived in the household of Sir Francis Masham since 1691. The bulk of Locke's publishing took place after his arrival back in England - the Essay, the Two Treatises and the Letter on Toleration all appearing in quick succession upon his return from exile.

Locke did not return home until after the Glorious Revolution. In the Netherlands Locke had time to return to his writing, spending a great deal of time re-working the Essay and composing the Letter on Toleration. However, Locke fled to the Netherlands in 1683, under strong suspicion of involvement in the Rye House Plot (though there is little evidence to suggest that he was directly involved in the scheme). It was around this time, most likely at Shaftesbury's prompting, that Locke composed the bulk of the Two Treatises of Government.

He returned to England in 1679 when Shaftesbury's political fortunes took a brief positive turn. Following Shaftesbury's fall from favor in 1675, Locke spent some time traveling across the whole of France. Locke became involved in politics when Shaftesbury became Lord Chancellor in 1672. Shaftesbury, as a founder of the Whig movement, exerted great influence on Locke's political ideas.

Two extant Drafts still survive from this period. It was in Shaftesbury's household, during 1671, that the meeting took place, described in the Epistle to the reader of the Essay, which was the genesis of what would later become Essay. Shaftesbury survived and prospered, crediting Locke with saving his life. Locke coordinated the advice of several physicians and was likely instrumental in persuading Shaftesbury to undergo an operation (then life-threatening itself) to remove the cyst.

Locke's medical knowledge was soon put to the test, since Shaftesbury's liver infection became life-threatening. Sydenham had a major impact on Locke's natural philosophical thinking - an impact that resonated deeply in Locke's writing of the Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In London Locke resumed his medical studies, under the tutelage of Thomas Sydenham. Locke had been looking for a career and in 1667 moved into Shaftesbury's home at Exeter House in London, ostensibly as the household physican.

Cooper was impressed with Locke and pressed him to become part of his retinue. In 1666, he met Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, who had come to Oxford seeking treatment for a liver infection. He studied medicine extensively during his time at Oxford, working with such noted virtuosi as Robert Boyle, Thomas Willis, Robert Hooke and Richard Lower. Although Locke never became a medical doctor, he earned a bachelor of medicine in 1674.

Locke earned a bachelor's degree in 1656 and a master's degree in 1658. He found reading modern philosophers, such as Rene Descartes, more interesting than the classical material taught at the University. Although he was a capable student, Locke chafed under the undergraduate curriculum of the time. The dean of the college at the time was John Owen, vice-chancellor of the university and also a Puritan.

After completing his studies there, he obtained admission to the college of Christ Church, Oxford. In 1647, Locke was sent to the prestigious Westminster School in London. His father, a lawyer, served as a captain of cavalry for Parliament during the English Civil War. Locke was born in Wrington, Somerset, about ten miles from Bristol, England, in 1632.

. Locke is perhaps most often contrasted with Thomas Hobbes. Locke has been placed in a group called the British Empiricists, which includes David Hume and George Berkeley. Locke's epistemology and philosophy of mind also had a great deal of significant influence well into the Enlightenment period.

His ideas formed the basis for the concepts used in American law and government, allowing the colonists to justify revolution. An Englishman, Locke's notions of a "government with the consent of the governed" and man's natural rights—life, liberty, and estate (property)—had an enormous influence on the development of political philosophy. John Locke (August 29, 1632 – October 28, 1704) was a 17th-century philosopher concerned primarily with society and epistemology. Reassesses Locke's political philosophy from different points of view.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969. Yolton (ed.), John Locke: Problems and Perspectives. John W. Roland Hall (ed.) `Locke Studies' is an annual journal of research on John Locke (obtainable from the editor for £12; the current volume is 300 pages).

Introduced the interpretation which emphasizes the theological element in Locke's political thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969. John Dunn, The Political Thought of John Locke: An Historical Account of the Argument of the Two Treatises of Government. A succinct introduction.

John Dunn, Locke Oxford University Press, 1984. Discusses influence of Locke and other thinkers upon American political thought. Enlarged Edition, 1992. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknapp/Harvard University Press, 1967.

Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Paul. (1707) A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of St. (1706) Of the Conduct of the Understanding.