Zum Hauptinhalt springen
Kapitel
Lizenziert
Nicht lizenziert Erfordert eine Authentifizierung

Early Christian Philosophers on Society and Political Norms

Veröffentlichen auch Sie bei De Gruyter Brill
Erkunden Sie dieses Fachgebiet So veröffentlichen Sie bei uns
State and Nature
Ein Kapitel aus dem Buch State and Nature

Abstract

Writing, as they were, in a majority pagan society, some Christian Church Fathers were ready to critique political institutions and assert an exceptional status for the Christian community. This paper distinguishes two stages in the development of these ‘antinomian’ tendencies in early Christianity. In the first, Christian thinkers such as Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Eusebius, and Lactantius, seem to be disagree whether Christians make up a special part of the society they live in. Some accept pagan political norms while promoting specifically Christian ethical norms; others urge the replacement of both kinds of norms with Christian ones. This debate centers on the source of normativity: is it God, the emperor, nature, or, finally, reason? In a second stage, Augustine’s City of God, inspired by the Stoic idea of the city of sages, envisions a distinct ‘city’ that unites Christians living under different earthly political regimes. Unlike earlier Christians, Augustine does not just distinguish but also connects ethical and political norms.

Abstract

Writing, as they were, in a majority pagan society, some Christian Church Fathers were ready to critique political institutions and assert an exceptional status for the Christian community. This paper distinguishes two stages in the development of these ‘antinomian’ tendencies in early Christianity. In the first, Christian thinkers such as Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Eusebius, and Lactantius, seem to be disagree whether Christians make up a special part of the society they live in. Some accept pagan political norms while promoting specifically Christian ethical norms; others urge the replacement of both kinds of norms with Christian ones. This debate centers on the source of normativity: is it God, the emperor, nature, or, finally, reason? In a second stage, Augustine’s City of God, inspired by the Stoic idea of the city of sages, envisions a distinct ‘city’ that unites Christians living under different earthly political regimes. Unlike earlier Christians, Augustine does not just distinguish but also connects ethical and political norms.

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Table of Contents vii
  3. Introduction ix
  4. Part I: Plato and Aristotle
  5. Human Nature and Legal Norms: Antiphon the Sophist as Anonymous Target in Plato’s Republic IX 1
  6. Natural Born Philosophers 35
  7. Normative Naturalism in Aristotle’s Political Philosophy? 59
  8. Whose State? Whose Nature? How Aristotle’s Polis is ‘Natural’ 81
  9. Aristotle on Freedom, Nature, and Law 119
  10. Aristotle on the Rationality of Women: Consequences for Virtue and Practical Accountability 135
  11. Part II: Hellenistic Philosophy
  12. Cynic Origins of the Stoic Doctrine of Natural Law? 159
  13. The Normativity of Nature in Epicurean Ethics and Politics 181
  14. Nature and Psychology in Cicero’s Republic 201
  15. Unnatural Law: A Ciceronian Perspective 221
  16. Natural Law and Casuistic Reasoning in Roman Jurisprudence 247
  17. Part III: Late Antiquity
  18. Human Nature and Normativity in Plotinus 269
  19. On Justice in Porphyry’s On Abstinence 293
  20. Early Christian Philosophers on Society and Political Norms 317
  21. Part IV: Medieval Philosophy
  22. Against Nature: Two Critics of Naturalism in the Islamic World 343
  23. “Like Ants in a Colony We Do Our Share”: Political Animals in Medieval Philosophy 365
  24. Ockham on Human Freedom and the Nature and Origin of Lordship 393
  25. Index of Names 415
  26. Index of Subjects 419
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110730944-015

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Table of Contents vii
  3. Introduction ix
  4. Part I: Plato and Aristotle
  5. Human Nature and Legal Norms: Antiphon the Sophist as Anonymous Target in Plato’s Republic IX 1
  6. Natural Born Philosophers 35
  7. Normative Naturalism in Aristotle’s Political Philosophy? 59
  8. Whose State? Whose Nature? How Aristotle’s Polis is ‘Natural’ 81
  9. Aristotle on Freedom, Nature, and Law 119
  10. Aristotle on the Rationality of Women: Consequences for Virtue and Practical Accountability 135
  11. Part II: Hellenistic Philosophy
  12. Cynic Origins of the Stoic Doctrine of Natural Law? 159
  13. The Normativity of Nature in Epicurean Ethics and Politics 181
  14. Nature and Psychology in Cicero’s Republic 201
  15. Unnatural Law: A Ciceronian Perspective 221
  16. Natural Law and Casuistic Reasoning in Roman Jurisprudence 247
  17. Part III: Late Antiquity
  18. Human Nature and Normativity in Plotinus 269
  19. On Justice in Porphyry’s On Abstinence 293
  20. Early Christian Philosophers on Society and Political Norms 317
  21. Part IV: Medieval Philosophy
  22. Against Nature: Two Critics of Naturalism in the Islamic World 343
  23. “Like Ants in a Colony We Do Our Share”: Political Animals in Medieval Philosophy 365
  24. Ockham on Human Freedom and the Nature and Origin of Lordship 393
  25. Index of Names 415
  26. Index of Subjects 419
Heruntergeladen am 29.4.2026 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110730944-015/html?lang=de
Button zum nach oben scrollen