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On the Ancient Background of Grotius's Notion of Natural Law

In: Grotiana
Author:
René Brouwer
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Online Publication Date:
01 Jan 2008
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Abstract

Grotius's notion of natural law is, as he himself makes clear, founded upon two demands of nature, which are to be connected with what is now known as the Stoic doctrine of appropriation. However, Grotius's understanding of the notion of natural law as a set of rules is not Stoic, but rather goes back to an interpretation that can be ascribed to Antiochus of Ascalon. By moving away from the Stoics Grotius could not only easily accommodate the Aristotelian doctrine of equity, otherwise rejected by the Stoics, but he could also formulate a minimalistic interpretation of human dispositions or 'rights', in contrast to the Stoics' maximalistic understanding of these dispositions as virtues.

Title:
On the Ancient Background of Grotius's Notion of Natural Law
Article Type:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/187607508X384661
Language:
English
Pages:
1–24
Keywords:
ANTIOCHUS OF ASCALON; NATURAL LAW; STOICISM; APPROPRIATION
In:
Grotiana
In:
Volume 29: Issue 1
Publisher:
Brill
E-ISSN:
1876-0759
Print ISSN:
0167-3831
Subjects:
Legal History, International Law, Intellectual History, History

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