Nature : příroda a přirozenost v Montesquieuově díle O duchu zákonů

• Main Author: Fořtová, Hana
• Other Authors: Kučera, Rudolf
• Format: Doctoral Thesis
• Language: Czech
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-279225

The aim of the dissertation is to clarify concept of nature in the major work of Montesquieu, The Spirit ofthe Laws. In fact we cannotfully comprehend political theory of the author without a proper understanding of his conception of human nature. The majority of interpreters treating this question regard Montesquieu as a follower of the modern school of natural law, mainly Grotius and Pufendorf, and they focus their attention on concepts of "natural right" and "natural law". Nevertheless, Montesquieu employs these terms rarely and he prefers to speak simply of "nature"; moreover, he does not offer a systematic analysis of the concept of natural right, neither any elaborate theory of human nature. The general notion of "nature" enables usto explore the scientific meaning of this term covering theory of climate, as one of the central points of author's politicaltheory. The first part of dissertation analyses the scientific meaning of the concept of nature. Through his activities at Bordeaux Academy Montesquieu was not only a spectator of the scientific revolution but he played the role of an active participant in this field. We focused on the author's attitude to the new idea of nature, mainly with regard to his attempt to understand human body. Montesquieu shares the Cartesian mechanistic conception of...