Samuel von Pufendorf
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Samuel von Pufendorf | |
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University of Lund | |
Main interests | Jurisprudence, political philosophy, economics and history |
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Samuel
His political concepts are part of the cultural background of the American Revolution. Pufendorf is seen as an important precursor of Enlightenment in Germany. He was involved in constant quarrels with clerical circles and frequently had to defend himself against accusations of heresy, despite holding largely traditional Christian views on matters of dogma and doctrine.[1]
Biography
Early life
He was born at Dorfchemnitz in the Electorate of Saxony. His father Esaias Elias Pufendorf from Glauchau was a Lutheran pastor, and Samuel Pufendorf himself was destined for the ministry.
Educated at the
Leaving Leipzig altogether, Pufendorf relocated to University of Jena, where he formed an intimate friendship with Erhard Weigel, the mathematician, whose influence helped to develop his remarkable independence of character. Under the influence of Weigel, he started to read Hugo Grotius, Thomas Hobbes and René Descartes.
Pufendorf left Jena in 1658 as Magister and became a tutor in the family of
At this time, Charles was endeavoring to impose an unwanted alliance on Denmark. In the middle of the negotiations he opened hostilities and the Danes turned with anger against his envoys. Coyet succeeded in escaping, but the second minister,
Career as author
At Leiden, he was permitted to publish, in 1660, the fruits of his reflections under the title of Elementa jurisprudentiae universalis libri duo ("Elements of Universal Jurisprudence: Two Books"). The work was dedicated to
In 1667 he wrote, with the assent of the elector palatine, a tract De statu imperii germanici liber unus ("On the Present State of the German Empire: One Book"). Published under the cover of a pseudonym at Geneva in 1667, it was supposed to be addressed by a gentleman of Verona, Severinus de Monzambano, to his brother Laelius. The pamphlet caused a sensation. Its author directly challenged the organization of the Holy Roman Empire, denounced in the strongest terms the faults of the house of Austria, and attacked with vigour the politics of the ecclesiastical princes. Before Pufendorf, Bogislaw Philipp von Chemnitz , publicist and soldier, had written, under the pseudonym of "Hippolytus a Lapide", De ratione status in imperio nostro romano-germanico ("On The Reason of the Present State in Our Holy Roman Empire"). Inimical, like Pufendorf, to the Austrian House of Habsburg, Chemnitz had gone so far as to make an appeal to France and Sweden. Pufendorf, on the contrary, rejected all idea of foreign intervention, and advocated that of national initiative.
When Pufendorf went on to criticise a new tax on official documents, he did not get the chair of law and had to leave Heidelberg in 1668. Chances for advancement were few in a Germany that still suffered from the ravages of the
In 1672 appeared De jure naturae et gentium libri octo ("On The Law of Nature and of Nations: Eight Books") and of, and in 1673 a résumé of it under the title De officio hominis et civis iuxta legem naturalem ("On the Duty of Man and Citizen, according to Natural Law"), which, among other topics, gave his analysis of
As regards public law Pufendorf, while recognizing in the state (civitas) a moral person (persona moralis), teaches that the will of the state is but the sum of the individual wills that constitute it, and that this association explains the state. In this a priori conception, in which he scarcely gives proof of historical insight, he shows himself as one of the precursors of Rousseau and of the Contrat social. Pufendorf powerfully defends the idea that international law is not restricted to Christendom, but constitutes a common bond between all nations because all nations form part of humanity.
In 1677 Pufendorf was called to
This theory makes a fundamental distinction between the supreme jurisdiction in ecclesiastical matters (Kirchenhoheit or jus circa sacra), which it conceives as inherent in the power of the state in respect of every religious communion, and the ecclesiastical power (Kirchengewalt or jus in sacra) inherent in the church, but in some cases vested in the state by tacit or expressed consent of the ecclesiastical body. The theory was of importance because, by distinguishing church from state while preserving the essential supremacy of the latter, it prepared the way for the principle of toleration. It was put into practice to a certain extent in
In 1688 Pufendorf was called into the service of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg. He accepted the call, but he had no sooner arrived than the elector died. His son Frederick III fulfilled the promises of his father; and Pufendorf, historiographer and privy councillor, was instructed to write a history of the Elector Frederick William (De rebus gestis Frederici Wilhelmi Magni).
The King of Sweden continued to testify his goodwill towards Pufendorf, and in 1694 created him a baron. In the same year while still in Sweden, Pufendorf suffered a stroke, and died on 26 October 1694[3] in Berlin. He was buried in the church of St Nicholas, where an inscription to his memory is still to be seen. He was succeeded as historiographer in Berlin by Charles Ancillon.
De iure naturae et gentium
In 1672 appeared De iure naturae et gentium. This work took largely the theories of Grotius and many ideas from Hobbes, adding to them Pufendorf's own ideas to develop the law of nations. Pufendorf argues that natural law does not extend beyond the limits of this life and merely regulates only external acts. He also challenges the Hobbesian thesis of a state of nature which is a state of war or conflict. For Pufendorf too there is a state of nature, but it is a state of peace. This natural peace, however, is weak and uncertain. In terms of public law, which recognizes the state (civitas) as a moral person (persona moralis), Pufendorf argues that the will of the state is nevertheless nothing more than the sum of the individual wills that are associated within it; hence the state needs to submit to a discipline essential for human safety. This 'submission', in the sense of obedience and mutual respect, is for Pufendorf the fundamental law of reason, which is the basis of natural law. He adds that international law should not be limited or restricted only to the Christian nations, but must create a common link between all peoples, since all nations are part of humanity.
De Officio Hominis et Civis Juxta Legem Naturalem
In De Officio Hominis et Civis Juxta Legem Naturalem ("On the Duty of Man and Citizen"), Pufendorf divides
Legacy and reputation
John Locke, David Hume, Edward Gibbon, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Denis Diderot all recommended Pufendorf's inclusion in law curricula, and he greatly influenced Blackstone and Montesquieu.
Pufendorf's feuds with
Works
- Craig L. Carr (ed.), The Political Writings of Samuel Pufendorf (Oxford 1994)
- Elementorum iurisprudentiae universalis (1660)
- von Pufendorf, Samuel (1660). Elementorum Iurisprudentiae Universalis libri duo [Elements of Universal Jurisprudence] (in Latin). Haga Comitum: Adriani Vlacq.
- von Pufendorf, Samuel (1663). De Obligatione Adversus Patriam (in Latin). Heidelbergae: Wyngaerden.
- De rebus gestis Philippi Augustae (1663)
- von Pufendorf (alias de Monzambano), Samuel (alias Severinus) (1667). De statu imperii Germanici ad Laelium fratrem, Dominum Trezolani, liber unus (in Latin). Geneva: Petrum Columesium.
- De statu imperii Germanici (Amsterdam 1669)
- von Pufendorf, Samuel (1672). De Jure Naturae Et Gentium Libri Octo [On the Law of Nature and of Nations] (in Latin). Londini Scanorum: Junghans.
- von Pufendorf, Samuel (1673). De Officio Hominis et Civis Juxta Legem Naturalem [On the Duty of Man and Citizen According to Natural Law] (in Latin). OCLC 759611925.
- English translation: von Pufendorf, Samuel (1927). De Officio Hominis et Civis Juxta Legem Naturalem Libri Duo [On the Duty of Man and Citizen According to Natural Law]. Translated by OCLC 1110799161.
- English translation: von Pufendorf, Samuel (1927). De Officio Hominis et Civis Juxta Legem Naturalem Libri Duo [On the Duty of Man and Citizen According to Natural Law]. Translated by
- von Pufendorf, Samuel (1683). Einleitung zu der Historie der Vornehmsten Reiche und Staaten, so itziger Zeit in Europa sich befinden (in German). Franckfurt am Mayn: Knoch.
- Commentarium de rebus suecicis libri XXVI., ab expeditione Gustavi Adolphi regis in Germaniam ad abdicationem usque Christinae
- De rebus a Carolo Gustavo Sueciae rege gestis commentariorum (Stockholm 1679)
- von Pufendorf, Samuel (1695). De Rebus Gestis Friderici Wilhelmi Magni, Electoris Brandenburgici, Commentariorum Libri Novendecim (in Latin). Vol. I. Berolini: Schrey.
- von Pufendorf, Samuel (1695). De Rebus Gestis Friderici Wilhelmi Magni, Electoris Brandenburgici, Commentariorum Libri Novendecim (in Latin). Vol. II. Berolini: Schrey.
References
- ^ ISBN 9789027218872.
- ^ Innledning Till Swänska Historien, (An Introduction to Swedish History), Ståkkholm 1688, page 912
- ^ Luig, Klaus (2003), "Pufendorf, Samuel Freiherr von", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 21, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 3–5; (full text online)
- ^ Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Ethics, accessed 28 April 2021
- ^ Pufendorf, S., On The Duty of Man and Citizen According to the Natural Law (1673), Lonang Institute, accessed 28 April 2021
public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pufendorf, Samuel". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in theFurther reading
- Sæther, Arild (February 2017). Samuel Pufendorf The Grandfather of Modern Political Economy? (PhD). ISBN 978-82-405-0363-5.
- ISBN 978-0-691-18165-3.
- Döring, Detlef (2010). "Leibniz's critique of Pufendorf: A dispute in the eve of the Enlightenment". In Dascal, Marcelo (ed.). The Practice of Reason: Leibniz and his Controversies. Vol. 7. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. ISBN 9789027218872.
- Gángó, Gábor (2023). "Johann Christian von Boineburg, Samuel Pufendorf, and the foundation myth of modern natural law". History of European Ideas.
- Haara, Heikki (2017). Sociability in Samuel Pufendorf's Natural Law Theory (PhD thesis). Helsinki: University of Helsinki. ISBN 978-951-51-2904-8.
- JSTOR 2708194.
- Olmstead, Clifton E. (1960). History of Religion in the United States. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. OCLC 382571 – via Internet Archive.
- Phillipson, Coleman (1913). "Samuel Pufendorf". In Macdonell, John; Manson, Edward (eds.). Great Jurists of the World. London: John Murray. pp. 305–344.
- Seidler, Michael (3 November 2015). "Pufendorf's Moral and Political Philosophy". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- Welzel, Hans (1958). Die Naturrechtslehre Samuel Pufendorfs (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. .
- Wolf, Erik (1927). Grotius, Pufendorf, Thomasius (PDF) (in German). OCLC 492155099.
External links
- Works by or about Samuel von Pufendorf at Internet Archive
- Works by Samuel von Pufendorf at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- New International Encyclopedia. 1905. .