Transplants from Talmudic sources in the natural law theories of the seventeenth century
Goltzberg, Stefan
Transplants from Talmudic sources in the natural law theories of the seventeenth century - 2018.
38
Natural law theories have long since drawn on Hebrew sources. In particular, the Decalogue, according to several medieval philosophers, is the clearest expression of natural law, i.e. the minimal set of rules that determine what people should or should not do. This paper addresses the shift from the Biblical to the Talmudic paradigm: it was not the Decalogue but rather the seven laws given to Noah (Noahide laws) that were relied upon by Grotius and even more by Selden. The invocation by Christian authors of the Noahide laws examined in the Talmud is presented here as a legal transplant and more precisely the transplant of a source of law: Noahide laws are not so much the cause as the persuasive source of natural law theories. Selden’s skills in Talmudic literature make him one of the central actors among the Christian Hebraists of the seventeenth century. The link between the Decalogue and the Noahide laws is worth examining in order to better understand the stakes of natural law theories.
Transplants from Talmudic sources in the natural law theories of the seventeenth century - 2018.
38
Natural law theories have long since drawn on Hebrew sources. In particular, the Decalogue, according to several medieval philosophers, is the clearest expression of natural law, i.e. the minimal set of rules that determine what people should or should not do. This paper addresses the shift from the Biblical to the Talmudic paradigm: it was not the Decalogue but rather the seven laws given to Noah (Noahide laws) that were relied upon by Grotius and even more by Selden. The invocation by Christian authors of the Noahide laws examined in the Talmud is presented here as a legal transplant and more precisely the transplant of a source of law: Noahide laws are not so much the cause as the persuasive source of natural law theories. Selden’s skills in Talmudic literature make him one of the central actors among the Christian Hebraists of the seventeenth century. The link between the Decalogue and the Noahide laws is worth examining in order to better understand the stakes of natural law theories.
Réseaux sociaux