Description
Book SynopsisThis volume continues the story of European political theorising by focusing on medieval and Renaissance thinkers. It includes extensive discussion of the practices that underpinned medieval political theories and which continued to play crucial roles in the eventual development of early-modern political institutions and debates. The author strikes a balance between trying to understand the philosophical cogency of medieval and Renaissance arguments on the one hand, elucidating why historically-suited medieval and Renaissance thinkers thought the ways they did about politics; and why we often think otherwise.
Trade Review"This is a very well-informed, thoughtful and scholarly account that is destined to be read closely (and with great profit) by specialists in the field as well as by the students for whom it is primarily intended."
Francis Oakley, Edward Dorr Professor of the History of Ideas and President Emeritus of Williams College "Professor Coleman demonstrates an admirable grasp of the detail and subtlety of the philosophical arguments, and their relation to social and historial circumstances, including trends in wider spheres of thought [...] I found the chapter on Plato particularly illuminating and students will find much of ambiguity in The Republic clarified by Coleman's discussion.[...] Students of specialist courses in Greek, Stoic and early Christian political thought will gain much from this scholarly and erudite book by an acknowledged expert in the field"
David Boucher, Cardiff University English Historical Review Vol 117, June 2002
Table of ContentsPreface viii
Introduction 1
1 Medieval Political Ideas and Medieval Society 5
Medieval Sources 9
The Historical Context of Early Medieval Political Thought 11
Carolingian Christian Kingship and Feudal Society 13
Translatio Imperii 18
Theocratic Kingship 19
The Origins of Papal Authority and the Gelasian Doctrine 22
Two Swords Theory 28
The Twelfth-century ‘Renaissance’: Canon Lawyers and their Heirs 29
The Twelfth-century ‘Renaissance’ and the Civil Lawyers 33
Civilians and Canonists 37
Individual and Collective Liberties 38
Sovereignty and Corporations 42
Natural Law, Rights and the Lawyers’ Concern for Individual Autonomy 46
Origins of Property Rights 49
Medieval Education: Practical Moral Philosophy of Ethics, Economics and Politics 50
The Contribution of Arabic and Jewish Thinking to the Twelfth-century ‘Renaissance’ 54
Aristotle in the Universities 56
Ethics and Politics in the Liberal Arts Course 57
The Purpose of Aristotelian Rhetorical Persuasion 59
The Thirteenth ‘Aristotelian’ Century 61
The Later Thirteenth-century Understanding of Rhetoric’s Service to a Prince: Giles of Rome 64
Aristotelian Rhetoric 65
Returning to Giles of Rome’s Rhetorical De regimine principum 69
Rhetoric outside the University and Aristotle within the University 71
Aristotle’s Ethics for Medieval University Students 73
Lawyers versus the Arts Faculty Philosophers 76
The New Mendicant Orders: Franciscans and Dominicans and Political Theory 77
2 St Thomas Aquinas 81
Philosophy of Man 84
Reality and Metaphysics 84
Naming, Natures and Actual Existents 86
Natures and Definitions 87
Substantial Form and Corporeal Individuation 88
Being and Essence 90
Cause and Effect 91
Grace Added to and Perfecting, Not Destroying, Nature 92
Sense Origin of Knowing 92
Reason and Will 95
The Will’s Relation to Justice as Universal Principle and as Historically Contingent Conclusion 97
Eudaimonia/beatitudo: Immortality and the Completion of Desire 98
Rationality and the Freedom of the Will 99
The Will and the Doctrine of Original Sin 100
Natural Theology 101
State and Church: The Consequences of Natural Theology 102
Free Will and Responsibility 104
Aquinas on Law and Politics 104
Natural Law beyond Cicero 105
Natural Human Community 106
The Consequences of the Fall 109
Individual Rights and the State’s Law 110
The Contrast with Augustine 112
The Mixed Constitution 113
Private Property Rights 115
3 John of Paris 118
Biographical Details 120
The Franciscan Position 122
The Dominican Position 123
The Origin of Government 124
The Thomistic Underpinning of dominium in rebus, Lordship and Ownership of Things 126
The Justification of Private Ownership 127
Limitations on Government 130
The Origin of the Priesthood 130
The Relation of the Church to its Property 132
Deposition Theory 133
4 Marsilius of Padua 134
Biographical Details 138
A Reading of Discourse 1 139
Some Observations from Discourse 2 158
Conclusion 166
5 William of Ockham 169
Biographical Details 170
Ockham’s Positions on Church and State 171
Ockham’s Epistemology 172
Ockham’s Dualism Concerning Secular and Spiritual Government: Continuing the Narrative 175
Comparisons with Marsilius 177
The Exceptional Exercise of Coercive Authority 178
Natural Rights 179
Corporation Theory 179
Ockham’s ‘Absolutism’ 181
How did Ockham Come to Hold These Views? 181
Right Reason 185
Scriptural Hermeneutics 188
Ockham’s Ethics 189
Conclusion 191
The Late Medieval Fortunes of Corporation Theories in the Church’s ‘Conciliar Theory’ 193
6 The Italian Renaissance and Machiavelli’s Political Theory 199
The Italian City-states Compared with Other European Cities 199
The Unconventional Aims of this Chapter 203
Communal Discourses and Citizenship 207
Urban Commerce 212
The Venetian Way 213
Perceived Benefits of Citizen Status 215
Community, Civitas, Ranked Citizenship and Local Patriotisms 216
The Involvement of Citizens in Late Thirteenth-century Communal Government 219
The Communal Ideal and the Menace of Factions 220
The Evolution of the Florentine Governing Class 222
Who Wanted to Play an Active Role in Fifteenth-century Florentine Government? 228
Humanism and Humanist Conceptions of Florentine Republicanism 230
Fifteenth-century Florentine Ideology 238
Niccolò Machiavelli 241
Machiavelli’s Political Morality 247
Founding and Maintaining the ‘Stato’ 251
The Fixity of Man’s Nature 252
Character Formation 254
The ‘Fit’ Between Character and the Times 256
Fortune 257
The Impetuous Prince Who Must Learn How Not to Have Fixed Dispositions 260
Learn to Imitate Foxes and Lions 262
Machiavelli’s ‘Popular’ Government: His Views of the Popolo 266
Conclusion 272
Bibliography 277
Index 291
