Locke's idea of gentleman education is closely related to his social, political and philosophical views. Locke's political view is the political view of bourgeois reconciliation and compromise. In philosophy, Locke is a materialist, but also an incomplete materialist.

His epistemology is dualistic, with both materialism and idealism. His adult things exist objectively, and he also opposes the concept of talent, that is, the concept that "human knowledge comes from nature."

Locke attaches great importance to the role of education and opposes talents from the "whiteboard theory". He believes that people's ideas are not innate. Before the emergence of ideas, people's hearts were just a "whiteboard", a blank sheet of paper without any characteristics. He opposes the existence of innate ideas and thinks that all ideas come from acquired "experience".

From this, he believes that since ideas are not innate, children are fundamentally different from adults. The process of forming and perfecting children's ideas is the process of receiving education. Therefore, Locke believes that education plays a very important role in the process of human formation.

Locke put forward that the purpose of education is to cultivate gentlemen. For Locke, education is a "gentleman's occupation", and only the upper class can learn science and other knowledge "easily and leisurely". Only from the upper class, it is possible to cultivate early people's leaders and political and moral managers, and after giving them proper education, quickly make other classes in society have regulations.

Locke proposed that a gentleman should be virtuous, intelligent, polite and knowledgeable. Gentleman education should be carried out from an early age. He advocates the form of family education, not school education. He believes that gentleman education is best carried out in the family and advocates hiring a tutor. He believes that the school environment is not conducive to gentleman education.