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Secondary sourceBook1933

Some Turns of Thought in Modern Philosophy

George Santayana · 1933

A 1933 essay collection by George Santayana including a piece on Locke written for the tercentenary of his birth.

This essay by Santayana reassesses Locke's philosophy on the occasion of the tercentenary of his birth.

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What it is

This is a book of five essays by the philosopher George Santayana, published in 1933 under the auspices of the Royal Society of Literature. The first essay, "Locke and the Frontiers of Common Sense," was originally read as a paper marking the three-hundredth anniversary of Locke's birth.

Why it matters

Santayana's essay places Locke within the history of modern philosophy, written more than two centuries after Locke's death. It shows how twentieth-century thinkers continued to re-examine Locke's ideas about common sense and knowledge, and how a tercentenary could become an occasion for fresh philosophical reflection.

Look closer

  • Why might a philosopher in 1933 choose to write about someone who died over two hundred years earlier?
  • What does the title "Frontiers of Common Sense" suggest about how Santayana interpreted Locke's philosophy?
  • How might an essay written for an anniversary differ from one written without a special occasion in mind?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of John Locke on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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