Samuel Freiherr von Pufendorf

Two Books of the Elements of Universal Jurisprudence was Pufendorf's first work, published in 1660. Its appearance effectively inaugurated the modern natural-law movement in the German-speaking world. The work also established Pufendorf as a key figure and laid the foundations for his major works, which were to sweep across Europe and North America. Elements of Universal Jurisprudence established Pufendorf's political theory, which, when fully developed, became the most significant alternative to rights-based theories. Pufendorf rejected the concept of natural rights as liberties and the suggestion that political government is justified by its protection of such rights, arguing instead for a principled limit to the state's role in human life. The Liberty Fund edition is based on the translation by William Abbott Oldfather prepared for the Classics of International Law series published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Samuel Pufendorf's significance has long been understood by students of natural law, who remember him as the architect and systematizer of the modern natural law tradition begun by Grotius. His reputation has grown as scholars have begun to explore his influence on the Enlightenment, classical liberalism, and modern jurisprudence. Demonstrating how it is possible to live with political authority and why it is not possible to live well without it, Pufendorf's political philosophy remains most pertinent for anyone who wonders about the ethical legitimacy and practical necessity of the modern state. The Political Writings of Samuel Pufendorf presents the basic arguments and fundamental themes of the political and moral thought of Samuel Pufendorf with selections from the texts of his two major works, Elements of Universal Jurisprudence and The Law of Nature and of Nations. These two works have been brought together to make Pufendorf's moral and political thought more accessible with a new English translation, the first for both works in roughly sixty years. In this volume, Craig L. Carr, the editor, and Michael J. Seidler, the translator, have developed a volume that is comprehensive and representative of Pufendorf's thought without being repetitive, fragmented, or obscure. Contemporary students of politics and philosophy can find in Pufendorf an alternative to liberal individualism built upon a distinctive vision of human sociality

Text of De statu hominum naturali in Latin with English translation and notes.

"In The Whole Duty of Man (1691), first published in Latin in 1673 as De officio hominis et civis, Pufendorf elaborates his conception of ethics, which separates civil duties from religious hopes. Unlike many Christian political theologians of the seventeenth century, Pufendorf refused to ground his natural law ethics in the ideal of human perfection or holiness; rather, he grounded them in the need for sociability, which he regarded as simply a means to an end - that is, human self-preservation and civil peace. Like Grotius and Hobbes, Pufendorf was responding to the religious wars that wracked early modern Europe by constructing a version of natural law capable of defending the civil state against the religious and moral delegitimation wielded by international Catholicism and Protestant zealots."--BOOK JACKET.

"This is an edition of two manuscripts with notes taken during Samuel Pufendorf's teaching at the University of Lund in the early 1670s. The shorter manuscript consists of annotations from lectures on De jure naturae et gentium, the lengthier renders notes taken during lectures on De officio hominis et civis. The texts show Pufendorf's doctrine at the pedagogic level, as it was presented to students immediately after his books were published. The effect of that is that natural law is imbedded in religion; Biblical references are numerous compared to in the printed books. Still, many comments reflect Pufendorf's conflict with local adversaries in Lund and with Lutheran theologians in Germany. The main message, however, is that natural law, i.e. Pufendorf, should replace Aristotle as foundation for the teaching of moral philosophy"--Title page verso.