Peter Olivi on Political Power, Will, and Human Agency
In: VivariumSearch for other papers by Juhana Toivanen in
Current site
Google Scholar
This essay discusses the views of Peter Olivi (ca. 1248-98) on the foundations of political power and agency. The central argument is that there is a strong connection between Olivi’s voluntarist psychology and his views concerning political power. According to Olivi, political power is ultimately based on the will of God, but in such a way that both the rulers and their subjects have, through their individual freedom, the liberty to use their share of power as they will. In fact, Olivi conceptualises political power as an extension of the dominion that human beings have over their wills, which is essential for being a political agent in the full sense. By providing a philosophical analysis of the role of the freedom of the will within Olivi’s political philosophy, this essay sheds light on his conception of the relation between the human and the divine will, as well as on his understanding of political power.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
21
S. Piron, “Les œuvres perdues d’Olivi: essai de reconstitution,” Archivum Franciscanum Historicum 91.3/4 (1998), 357-394. Olivi mentions these questions, e.g., in Summa ii, q. 57 (ed. Jansen, 316). See Summa ii, q. 112 (ed. Jansen, 300); q. 117 (369-370). The most extensive treatment of the topic that we possess is in Summa i, q. 6 (Utrum Deus potuerit nolle que voluit et vult, bav, Borgh. lat. 358, ff. 154ra-165ra, ed. S. Piron, forthcoming).
-
31
S. Piron, “Vœu et contrat chez Pierre de Jean Olivi,” Les Cahiers du Centre de Recherches Historiques 16 (1996), paragraphs 5-7 (http://ccrh.revues.org/2645; doi:10.4000/ccrh.2645); S. van Duffel, “From Objective Right to Subjective Rights: The Franciscans and the Interest and Will Conceptions of Rights,” in The Nature of Rights: Moral and Political Aspects of Rights in Late Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy, ed. V. Mäkinen (Helsinki, 2010), 65-93.
-
32
For a discussion, see P. Grossi, “Usus facti: La nozione di proprietà nella inaugurazione dell’età nuova,” Quaderni forentini per la storia del pensiero giuridico moderno 1 (1972), 287-355.
-
35
S. Piron, “L’expérience subjective chez Pierre de Jean Olivi,” in Généalogies du sujet: De saint Anselme à Malebranche, ed. O. Boulnois (Paris, 2007), 43-54.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 437 | 69 | 8 |
| Full Text Views | 268 | 4 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 123 | 7 | 0 |
Peter Olivi on Political Power, Will, and Human Agency
In: VivariumSearch for other papers by Juhana Toivanen in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
This essay discusses the views of Peter Olivi (ca. 1248-98) on the foundations of political power and agency. The central argument is that there is a strong connection between Olivi’s voluntarist psychology and his views concerning political power. According to Olivi, political power is ultimately based on the will of God, but in such a way that both the rulers and their subjects have, through their individual freedom, the liberty to use their share of power as they will. In fact, Olivi conceptualises political power as an extension of the dominion that human beings have over their wills, which is essential for being a political agent in the full sense. By providing a philosophical analysis of the role of the freedom of the will within Olivi’s political philosophy, this essay sheds light on his conception of the relation between the human and the divine will, as well as on his understanding of political power.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 437 | 69 | 8 |
| Full Text Views | 268 | 4 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 123 | 7 | 0 |