Methodical System of Universal Law

Heineccius

ISBN 10: 0865974799 / ISBN 13: 9780865974791

Published by Liberty Fund Inc, US, 2008

About this Item

Heineccius's theory of natural law was in many ways an independent development situated both temporally and philosophically between the earlier natural law tradition of Samuel Pufendorf and Christian Thomasius, and the later theories of Christian Wolff, writes of co-editor Peter Schröder. "While Heineccius was influenced by Pufendorf, and to a lesser extent by Thomasius, his natural law theory differs in various crucial aspects. Most importantly, Heineccius did not derive the law of nature from human qualities or human nature, as Pufendorf attempted with his concept of sociability. Heineccius thought that the law of nature was entirely derived from the will of God." Heineccius's Methodical System was first printed in 1737. George Turnbull's translation of 1742 was one of the first to be made and was issued twice. Turnbull (1698-1748) was a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. His extensive commentaries on the text present a comprehensive overview of the sophisticated and wide-ranging European discourse on natural law, while his appended Discourse is a work of independent importance in moral thought.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780865974791

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Methodical System of Universal Law
• Publisher: Liberty Fund Inc, US
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0865974799
• ISBN 13: 9780865974791
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 936 grams

About this title

Synopsis

George Turnbull’s eighteenth-century translation of A Methodical System of Universal Law was his major effort to convey continental natural law to Britain, thus making Heineccius’s natural jurisprudence more accessible to English-speaking audiences. Turnbull includes extensive comments on Heineccius’s text and also presents his own philosophical work, A Discourse upon the Nature and Origin of Moral and Civil Laws.

Johann Gottlieb Heineccius (1681–1741) studied theology at Leipzig and later law at the newly founded (1694) University of Halle, where he became a pupil of Christian Thomasius.

Thomas Ahnert is a Lecturer in History at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Peter Schröder is Senior Lecturer in the History Department at University College, London.

About the Author

Thomas Ahnert is a lecturer in early modern intellectual history at the University of Edinburgh.