Professor in Philosophy Diego Lucci’s book, “John Locke’s Christianity,” has been nominated for three prestigious awards: the annual Book Prize of the Journal of the History of Philosophy, the Richard L. Greaves Book Prize and the Istvan Hont Book Prize. “John Locke’s Christianity,” published by Cambridge University Press, offers an unexplored perspective of the English philosopher’s thinking. We spoke to Professor Lucci to hear more about the three nominations, and his future research and teaching plans.
Congratulations on the three nominations you have received for your book John Locke’s Christianity! Could you tell us a bit more about the specifics of each of the awards? What do you think helped you secure these nominations?
The annual Book Prize of the Journal of the History of Philosophy is one of the most important international honors in the field. For a historian of philosophy, this prize is equivalent to what an Academy Award is for a filmmaker. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when Cambridge University Press decided to submit my book for this prize.
The Richard L. Greaves Book Prize is awarded, every three years, by a committee of the International John Bunyan Society to an outstanding book on an aspect of Protestantism in Anglophone countries in the early modern period. Since my book reconstructs and reassesses Locke’s religion as an original version of Protestant Christianity and also reconsiders the major influences, impact, and legacy of Locke’s Christianity, I have good hopes for this prize.
The Istvan Hont Book Prize is awarded, every year, by the Institute of Intellectual History at the University of St Andrews to an outstanding book in the field of intellectual history. So far, various books published by Cambridge UP have won this prize. I think my book, too, is being taken into serious consideration by the award committee.
I realized I have done a good job in writing this book when I received the positive feedback of two anonymous reviewers selected by Cambridge University Press. I was quite worried when I submitted my book to Cambridge UP, which publishes only a slight minority of the books proposed to it. When this prestigious university press accepted my book for publication, I felt much relieved. Later, five internationally renowned experts in Locke’s thought wrote as many high praises of this book, which are now in the Cambridge UP website.
Then, following the publication of the book, many scholars from Europe, North America, Australia, and elsewhere told me that this is a “great,” “excellent,” “fantastic” book. I was particularly pleased to see that my book was cited by several presenters, including keynote speakers, at the 2021 John Locke Conference, which took place online last June.
Last but not least, I have received the drafts or published versions of several reviews of this book, which have appeared or will soon appear in various respected journals, and all of them are very positive. I think that the fact that my book is being widely discussed has strongly benefited its reputation.
The approach you have taken to researching Locke’s life and religious ideas was something not done before. What sparked your interest in this topic initially?
Honestly, I had other plans when I started my research on Locke. After writing extensively on English deism and Jewish-Gentile relations – which are the subjects of my first two book-length monographs – around seven or eight years ago I read some books and articles on anti-Trinitarian Christianity in seventeenth-century England.
At that time, I thought it would be interesting to investigate the impact of anti-Trinitarian concepts on the religious, philosophical, and political ideas of some major representatives of the English Enlightenment – not only deists and freethinkers, but also Isaac Newton and his disciples and, indeed, John Locke. Thus, I first acquired deep and extensive knowledge of early modern anti-Trinitarianism, about which I subsequently wrote several papers. Then, I focused on Locke’s writings on religion.
I also studied, once again, his philosophical and political works, this time against the background of his theological views. In the end, I read so much by Locke and about Locke, and I became so absorbed in his philosophical, religious, and political views, that I drafted an essay of more than 50,000 words on this author’s theology. At the same time, I planned and started writing various papers about different aspects of Locke’s moral and political reflection.
Therefore, I decided to expand my treatment of Locke’s religious thought by writing more about his biblical exegesis, his theory of salvation, and his consideration of various Protestant currents, and by considering, also, the connections between his theological reflection and his philosophical, moral, and political ideas. In the end, the published version of my book consists of around 115,000 words. And I think I could have written even more if, at a certain point, I did not decide to “wrap up” and prepare the typescript for publication.
How did the research on your book influence your academic work with students? Is there interest for a topic class, for example?
I am afraid that a topic course devoted exclusively to Locke’s religion would not be appropriate at a liberal arts college, where we need courses with a wider scope. Perhaps one day I will manage to teach a one-credit course or a graduate seminar on Locke as a philosopher, political thinker, and theologian.
Nevertheless, when I was working on this book, I realized that some of the issues the book covers, such as Locke’s empiricism, his agnosticism about substance, and his theory of personal identity might be of interest to our students. Therefore, I included these topics in the syllabi for some of my courses – first a topic course in Modern Philosophy and Film, and then my Introduction to Philosophy course.
And, indeed, many students found it thought-provoking to examine his notion of substance as an unknown support of ideas, or his theory of personal identity as consisting in consciousness. As regards to Locke’s political thought, I regularly teach about his views on the state of nature, natural rights, the civil commonwealth, and religious toleration in my Political Philosophy course. Covering these concepts in my book and in some articles of mine has enabled me to attain an even deeper understanding of the meaning of Locke’s political theory and, hence, to transmit my knowledge of this author to my students in even more effective ways.
What would you say are some of the implications of Locke’s ideas in the present day?
This is a very good question. I think that Locke’s political thought, above all, can still play a prominent role in today’s debate on liberal-democracy and the rule of law. Locke is widely labeled as the “father of liberalism.” Although this definition is perhaps an exaggeration, Locke’s political ideas have played a crucial role in the shaping of liberal-democracy, its core principles, and its practices.
Locke’s political writings, particularly the Second Treatise of Civil Government and A Letter concerning Toleration, provide us with conceptual tools essential to justify natural as well as political equality; human, civil, and political rights; representative government; the separation of powers; popular sovereignty and the rulers’ accountability to the ruled; and, more importantly, the fact that civil magistrates in the exercise of their functions must take into account not only popular will, but also inviolable principles and rules that not even the (potentially tyrannical) will of the majority may decide to disregard or abrogate.
In a few words, Locke’s political theory still provides the theoretical means to construct and justify a model of government that aims to procure, preserve, and advance all citizens’ “civil interests” (i.e., life, property, and freedom).
Furthermore, some intriguing aspects of Locke’s philosophy are still relevant to our consideration of our knowledge of reality and the self, although or perhaps because they imply skeptical conclusions. For instance, Locke thought that we cannot have an understanding of a thing beyond the idea we have of it.
And, in some cases, we cannot even have a clear and distinct idea of something that we simply suppose. This is the case of substances, given that, after all, we perceive only the qualities of sensible objects (and not their very essence) and, when it comes to one’s own mind, one perceives only its operations (and not the “thinking substance” itself). Moreover, Locke maintained that personal identity consists in consciousness, namely, in immediate awareness of one’s thinking and acting, of one’s thoughts and actions, and, hence, of one’s thinking and acting self.
And consciousness, extending backward to any past thought and action, is fundamental to memory and is also crucial to moral judgment. Now, this theory seems to me quite relevant to the widespread opinion that what a person truly is consists, actually, in their thoughts and deeds and that, therefore, a person must be judged based on the thoughts they express and the deeds they commit.
What are your future research plans?
Considering the positive reception of John Locke’s Christianity, and considering the deep and wide knowledge I have acquired of Locke’s thought and of the historiography on his work, I am continuing my research on this author. I recently wrote some articles on his doctrine of religious toleration and his natural law theory. And I am planning to write more about this important thinker.
In the conclusion of a book of 2017 on the impact of Locke’s religious ideas on his logic, physics, and ethics, Victor Nuovo, who is an internationally recognized authority on this philosopher, admitted to have not covered “Locke’s political theology” in his book because this “is a subject large enough for another project.” Having consulted with Professor Nuovo and other Locke specialists, I have decided to devote the next few years to exploring the role that Locke’s natural and biblical theology played in the making of his political theory, with a focus on issues such as natural law, self-preservation, equality, natural rights and duties, the tasks of government, toleration, and the right of revolution.
In the meantime, I am trying to further promote knowledge of Locke’s work and legacy as I am organizing the 2022 John Locke Conference, which will take place at AUBG on June 21 to 23, 2022.
