Epilogue: A Kind of Sensible Justice

2019 ◽  
pp. 295-302
Author(s):  
Christopher Crosbie
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Invisible Hand ◽  
Didactic Texts ◽  
Expository Prose ◽  
Embodied Action ◽  
The Invisible

This brief epilogue revisits prominent early modern commentaries on revenge in order to show how theater, by doing philosophy in the ways illuminated in the book, investigates in a more expansive manner the relation between ontological assumption and embodied action found in the era's expository prose. Early modern authors commonly describe justice, in whatever form it takes, as the sensible scourges delivered by the invisible hand of God. In closing, this chapter discusses theater's distinctive capacity for exploring – with considerable more latitude than possible in didactic texts centered on religious, legal, or political theory – the complexities inherent in tracing embodied action to its various ontological roots.

From Crusades to Colonization: Violence in Secular and Religious Political Theory

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Xavier Scott
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Modern Philosophy ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
International Law ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
John Rawls ◽  
State Power ◽  
Charles Taylor ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Beliefs And Values

This paper examines the transition in political philosophy between the medieval and early-modern periods by focusing on the emergence of sovereignty doctrine. Scholars such as Charles Taylor and John Rawls have focused on the ability of modern-states to overcome conflicts between different religious confessionals. In contrast, this paper seeks to examine some of the peace-promoting features of Latin-Christendom and some of the conflict-promoting features of modern-secular states. The Christian universalism of the medieval period is contrasted with the colonial ventures promoted by the Peace of Westphalia. This paper’s goal is not to argue that secularism is in fact more violent than religion. Rather, it seeks to demonstrate the major role that religion played in early modern philosophy and the development of sovereignty doctrine. It argues against the view that the modern, secular state is capable of neutrality vis-à-vis religion, and also combats the view that the secular nature of modern international law means that it is neutral to the different beliefs and values of the world’s peoples. These observations emphasize the ways in which state power and legitimacy are at the heart of the secular turn in political philosophy. 

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