Yale, perhaps, gets English philosopher (5)
I believe the answer is:
locke
'english philosopher' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'yale perhaps' is the wordplay.
'yale' becomes 'lock' (Yale is a brand of lock).
'perhaps' becomes 'e' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'lock'+'e'='LOCKE'
'gets' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for locke that I've seen before include "English empiricist philosopher, d. 1704" , "A philosopher; sounds like strand of hair" , "John -, seventeenth to eighteenth century English philosopher" .)