أسس الفكر السياسى الحديث -الجزء الثانى- عصر الإصلاح الدينى

The Foundations of Modern Political Thought #2

by Quentin Skinner, حيدر حاج إسماعيل (ترجمة)

A two-volume study of political thought from the late thirteenth to the end of the sixteenth century, the decisive period of transition from medieval to modern political theory. The work is intended to be both an introduction to the period for students, and a presentation and justification of a particular approach to the interpretation of historical texts. Quentin Skinner gives an outline account of all the principal texts of the period, discussing in turn the chief political writings of Dante, Marsiglio, Bartolus, Machiavelli, Erasmus and more, Luther and Calvin, Bodin and the Calvinist revolutionaries. But he also examines a very large number of lesser writers in order to explain the general social and intellectual context in which these leading theorists worked. He thus presents the history not as a procession of 'classic texts' but are more readily intelligible. He traces by this means the gradual emergence of the vocabulary of modern political thought, and in particular the crucial concept of the State. We are given an insight into the actual processes of the formation of ideologies and into some of the linkages between political theory and practice. Professor Skinner has been awarded the Balzan Prize Life Time Achievement Award for Political Thought, History and Theory. Full details of this award can be found at http: //www.balzan.it/News_eng.aspx?ID=2474

Genres: History, Philosophy, Politics, Nonfiction, Political Science, Religion, Reference

659 pages, ebook

First published November 30, 1978

About the author

Educated at Caius College, Cambridge, where he was elected to a Fellowship upon obtaining a double-starred first in History, Quentin Skinner accepted, however, a teaching Fellowship at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he taught until 2008, except for four years in the 1970s spent at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. In 1978 he was appointed to the chair of Political Science at Cambridge University, and subsequently regarded as one of the two principal members (along with J.G.A. Pocock) of the influential 'Cambridge School' of the history of political thought, best known for its attention to the 'languages' of political thought.

Skinner's primary interest in the 1970s and 1980s was the modern idea of the state, which resulted in two of his most highly regarded works, The Foundations of Modern Political Thought: Volume I: The Renaissance and The Foundations of Modern Political Thought: Volume II: The Age of Reformation.

Reviews

[mohab samir · Rating 4 out of 5]

بعد أن أوضح الكاتب فى الجزء الأول مسيرة الفكر السياسى فى عصر النهضة الأوروبية وشرح لنا كيف تحررت الفلسفة السياسية من فكر القرون الوسطى ذور الطابع التومائى أو السكولاستيكى المسيحى والذى سيطرت عليه الكنيسة لقرون وتحولت هذه الفلسفة لإحياء الدراسات اليونانية والرومانية القديمة على يد الكتاب الإنسانيين . وأوضح لنا كيف تحولت هذه الدراسات الحديثة إلى تطوير وتعديل هذه الأفكار القديمة حتى إذا وصلنا لعصر الإصلاح الدينى وجدنا فلسفة حديثة تقترب من التبلور بإستمرار حتى نهاية القرن السادس عشر .
فى بداية هذا الفصل نرى كيفية التحول إلى دراسة السلطات الملكية بعد ان حررها الإنسانيون من سطوة الكنيسة فى مرحلة النهضة وكيف أسهم الإصلاح الدينى سواء اللوثرى او الكالفنى الو الزوينجلىّ فى ممارسة هذه الفلسفات الحديثة بشكل فعلى فكان ان تحررت العديد من المدن من سيطرة الكنيسة وتحرر أمراؤها من الخضوع للبابوية بعد أن إتبع شعوب هذه المدن الدعوات الإصلاحية الدينية الجديدة كاللوثرية فى ألمانيا والكالفنية فى سويسرا والفلاندرز وكالعادة هناك من المدن من نجح فى الأمر وكان هناك من فشلوا بعد عناء مرير كبعض مدن فرنسا الشمالية او الشرقية . أما من نجحوا فقد كونوا أحلاف صغيرة أو كبيرة تطورت إلى حد إتحادها فى دول جديدة كهولندا مثلا . ومنها من خضع بشكل أكبر للملك بشكل يعوض الفراغ الذى تركته الكنيسة خلفها مما أتاح للملك سطوة عظيمة على هذه المدن لم يصل اليها الملوك منذ عهد الإمبراطورية الرومانية.
ثم نرى كيف إنتقل من هنا المفكرون السياسيون والمنظرون القانونيون لدراسة سلطات الملك فمنهم من نادى بالملكية المطلقة ومنهم من أراد الحد من هذه السلطة فوجدنا ظهور العديد من الأفكار الحديثة الداعمة لهذا الاتجاه كظهور نظرية القانون الطبيعى والذى أتاح النجاح فى النزاع الإستراتيجى الأول وهو إثبات حق الشعوب فى مقاومة الحكام إذا لم يسلك الحكام طريق خير الشعوب .
ثم ظهرت بعد ذلك النظرية القانونية والدستورية التين نتجتا من نظرية العقد الإجتماعى لقيام الدول والممالك ومن هنا كانت بداية نشوء الأفكار الديموقراطية الحديثة التى نعيش فى ظلها أو نارها اليوم .
كان هذا التطور يسير متوازيا فى جميع دول أوروبا وبشكل نزاعات سياسية جدلية بين المنظرين الكاثوليك من طرف والإصلاحيين اللوثريين او الكالفنيين من طرف أخر وهذا الشكل الجدلى هو الذى سهل من مهمة تتبع الأفكار الأولى للفكر السياسى الحديث ومعرفة القضايا الأولية التى كانت أعظم محل للنزاع والتى بمجرد حل عقدتها توالت الأفكار المنبثقة عنها فى النشوء والتسلسل والتطور . مما أعطى للكتاب طابع فكرى منهجى ممتع ولا نغفل الطابع الخاص للكاتب وهو الذى شجعنى من أولى تجاربى معه على الإستفاضة فى قراءة أعماله الرائعه .

[Illiterate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skinner’s scholarship and clarity are impressive. Imagine the tedium of reading all those repetitive, middle brow, religious, primary sources.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book, and a major feat of scholarship. Skinner’s goal is to help understand how we arrive at a modern conception of the State as a sovereign, distinct entity. In this volume, that requires tracing the theories of government, and the right to resist government, that arose at the time of the Reformation. The Reformation was, no doubt, first and foremost a theological movement. But at a time when Roman Catholic theology argued that the Church possessed legal jurisdiction over the kingdoms of men, a theological reformation must inevitably have social and political consequences. Skinner traces those consequences in fine detail.

[Justin Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

No doubt subject to many justified attacks in academic circles, which no doubt focus on small problems and ignore the importance and coherence of the argument at a large scale: by the end of this period it was possible, more than ever, to think about 'politics' as something separate from religion and theology. Does that mean that everyone turned into a modern political scientist overnight? Thank god, no. Does it mean that the sequence Bodin to Locke is much, much different than the sequence Augustine-Luther? Yes, yes it does.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The purpose of the two volumes only become clearer in the concluding chapter, which is to establish that the foundations for a modern theory of the state appeared in the 16th century during the many theological and political debates. The previous usages of state were just not enough. To correct my kinda biased opinion in my review of the first volume, a relatively cynical comment on the dire situation of intellectuals, after reading Ringer 1990. So it is not necessary that theorists/jurists/theologians will either follow one path to the end or be equivocal like Calvin or just comply with the dominant powers. The case of More is rather indicative of this, instead of being an extraordinary exception. The general line of argument is to trace what the Lutheran beliefs are about and how the duty of resistance becomes right of resistance. Something fun about this whole thing is that whenever there is crisis for the oppositions, they just consult the medieval/roman sources, but they eventually have to argue away with these humanist rediscoveries, turning back to the Aristotelean politics. The world according to first volume was still confused between politics and moral philosophy (study of virtues and so on), whereas in the second volume people start to talk more about state as state, less about the princes, so men really treaded a long and circular path to go back to Aristotle to talk about politics again, at least that’s what I think the author is implying.

[Logan Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very dense work of scholarship that tells of a slow progression from Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses all the way to the development of the modern idea of the State. Though my experience of reading this book was often akin to eating sand, I learned a lot about the Reformers, the Reformation, Scholastic Political Ideology, and the Huguenots that I could not have otherwise.

[Eren Buğlalılar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yaklaşık 1,5-2 sene süren "Modern Siyasal Düşüncenin Temelleri" faslı, ikinci ve son cildin yayımlanmasıyla benim için kapanmış oldu.

İkinci cildin en çok sevdiğim yeri "Direnme Hakkı" teorilerinin anlatıldığı bölüm oldu. "Zalim, hukuksuz bir hükümdara karşı direnmek ve onu öldürmek meşru mudur?" sorusunu modern Batı siyaset düşüncesine sokan ve buna "evet" yanıtını verip temellendiren Huguenot ayaklanmasının kuramcılarından çok şey öğrendim.

Belki onlarla aynı teorik zeminde değiliz ama, katılıyorum: Kendi koyduğu yasaya dahi uymayan ve halkına zulmeden bir hükümdar/yöneticiye karşı şiddet meşru ve gereklidir.

Çeviri sırasında Türkçenin sınırlılıkları da beni zorladı. Mesela direnme hakkı teorilerinde önemli bir yeri olan 'constitutionalism' kavramı Türkçede "anayasacılık" diye geçiyor ama ilgisi yok. Bir hükümdarın egemenliğini oluşturan, inşa eden diğer derebeylerin (constitution) o hükümdara direnme hakkıyla ilgili bir kavram. İçinden çıkamadığım için yaygın karşılığa teslim oldum.

[Eren Buğlalılar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Çok zamanımı aldın Quentin, umarım değmiştir. Hasılı, siyasal düşüncenin temelleri de devrim ve karşı devrim arasındaki mücadeleyle atılmış. Hele kitap 3. bölümde 16. yüzyıl silahlı mücadele teorilerine giriyor ki, o bölüm apayrı bir hazine.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. He is a little confused on some points of theology, and his use of Beza as a 'Lutheran' and then a 'Calvinist' is symptomatic of a wider misunderstanding. However, he is a smart guy. Full credit for both volumes.

[Antonio Barsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I write this review as a 2 in 1, i.e., a conjunction of my reading of both volumes. This is a magistral work, which - as far as I know - has no rival in both breadth and depth. It is a generation-defining research and I dare say a classic (but this only time can tell with certainty). As much as Skinner's conclusion is very important, I would argue that a better account is given in his "From the state of the princes to the person of the state" (a revised version of a previous article of his, now present in his Visions of Politics, Volume 2). In my opinion, his biggest accomplishment in these books is the "genealogy" of the many political theories of Medieval and Modern Europe. His account has even led to further studies in Renaissance humanism and republicanism (e.g. a book Skinner co-edited with Maurizio Viroli on Machiavelli's republicanism); later strands of republicanism (such as Pocock's "Virtues, Commerce, and Rights" and the book Skinner co-edited with Martin von Gelderen, "Republicanism", in 2 volumes); the United Provinces' political theories (e.g. Martin von Gelderen's study on the Dutch Revolt); and even led to the development of a new method in historiography (vide Skinner's "Visions of Politics", Volume 1, and Pocock's methodological essays).
Not only is "The Foundations of Modern Political Thought" unavoidable for any research in political theory between the 12th and 17th centuries, but also a really good commentary on a number of authors such as Machiavelli and Bodin. For a more detailed account of Renaissance political thought, Skinner's "Vision of Politics", Volume 2, is recommended; but the volume 1 of the present book is still unmatched in terms of general survey (perhaps even better than Pocock's "The Machiavellian Moment"). In summary, one of the best books I have ever read and one which I highly recommend for any research associated with political theory and/or historiography.

[Ergun Kocabıyık · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quentin Skinner severek okuduğum bir yazar. Modern Siyasal Düşüncenin Temellerini incelediği çalışmasının bu ikinci cildini Reformasyon dönemine ayırmış. Bir süredir bu konuda okumalar yapıyorum; bu alanın vazgeçilmez kaynaklarından birisi.

[Khitkhite Buri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skinner genuinely thinks that everyone is implicated, if not suffering from the anxiety influence. I miss the epiphany, and the theology.

[Joseph Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant as ever, though I found the political ideas of the Reformation somewhat less interesting than those of the Renaissance.

[John David · Rating 5 out of 5]

How did the modern concept of the State develop, concomitant with its peculiar accoutrements of sovereignty and power? One of the aims of Skinner’s hook is to answer this question in the fullest, broadest, and most meticulous way possible.

Ever since Augustine’s De Civitate Dei, the Christian was urged not to pay any attention to this earthly world, but rather to focus on the everlasting blessings of the City of God. Understandably, this is hardly an exhortation for active engagement in the political sphere. It was not until William of Moerbeke’s 1250s translation of Aristotle’s “Politics” nearly a millennium later that the formal study of the communicatio politica saw a formal recrudescence. Brunetto Latini, Dante’s much-vaunted teacher and William’s contemporary, wrote one of the first important political treatises of the post-Roman era, the “Books of Treasure.” Latini’s intellectual heirs, however, were the humanists of the sixteenth century, with whom Skinner’s book is almost wholly concerned.

Another prerequisite for the development of the modern State is its asserted independence from any external or coequal powers, which was done when Bartolus and his students broke away from Justinian legist traditions to claim that the State was an “independent association not recognizing any superior.” But perhaps the most important formulation is the notion of sovereignty, which was completely foreign to medieval legal assumptions which emphasized feudal organization and the Church’s ability to assert itself as an equal power to that of the State. Marsiglio of Padua’s “Defensor Pacis,” which construed all power, even that of the Church, as secular, was one of the first death knells rung against this now-foreign complicity. Especially interesting is Skinner’s careful historical analysis of the world “State” from the condition in which a ruler finds himself (status principis) or the general “state of the nation” (status regni) to the wholly modern idea of the State as a sort of abstract, rarefied power apart from both ruler and ruled, constituting ultimate political authority within a geographically defined region.

For those readers whose groundings in Lutheran and Calvinist theology might not be the strongest, Professor Skinner provides a lush history of these ideas, as a knowledge of them is completely inseparable from broader cultural and political trends. A bit of warning, however: as the material might suggest, this is not a breezy apercu – or even just a moderately difficult one. Unless the reader is wholly interested in the subject, I would not recommend this book as something to read through systematically. However, even considering its age (it was originally published in 1975), the humbly named “The Foundations of Modern Political Thought” belies the massiveness of its achievement. It is nothing less than the best intellectual synthesis of sixteenth century theology, Reformation ideology, and political theory ever written.

[W. Littlejohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still the classic work in the field, for all its flaws (and there are certainly many). Skinner clearly feels more at home in the political thought than the theology (which, given that they are usually inseparable in this period, is something of a problem), and it shows in his much surer and more compelling handling of the material near the end (the Huguenot resistance theorists) than that near the beginning (Luther and his followers). Of course, the narrative framework he erects for the material--a development in which, by the end of the period, political theory is gaining independence from theology, allowing (laudably in his mind) for the development of the distinctively modern concept of political science and of the State, is itself deeply suspect, so one cannot quite trust his treatment of the Huguenot resistance theorists either.

However, for all that, the book deserves its status as a classic. It is thorough, complex, and subtle, in a period where much of the historical writing (especially before Skinner) reinforced crude stereotypes or served blunt polemical purposes, and in which the political scene is extraordinarily complex and difficult to coherently organize. Skinner does an excellent job of getting the reader inside the minds of the writers he is looking at, bringing them and their unique concerns and agendas to life, so that they no longer merely represent "ism"s.

An invaluable resource, though one to be taken, at almost every point, with a grain of salt.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

As before, I am still impressed by Skinner's ability to understand and communicate abstract and complex ideas, and to trace their history. His explanation of Reformation-era theology (Protestant or Catholic) and his analysis of its effect on what we would now call 'political' thought is both clear and judicious, although the ground he covers is rather more well-trodden than in his first volume. The legacy of the Reformation in politics has been, I feel, somewhat neglected by modern intellectual historians, either because they read back on to the period their own preconceptions about the division between church and state or because they somewhat sniffily - and incorrectly - assume that religious involvement in civil affairs is always one of an authoritarian nature. In any case, Skinner's investigation turns out quite substantial results, which can no longer be ignored.

[Илья Дескулин · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skinner's boring but high quality research points to a simple conclusion: all of the religious thinking/political philosophy is just sophisticated BS which serves the Power. No matter Catholic or Protestant, monarchist or republican - all reward their friends, punish their enemies, and push for a more centralized political order.

[Corey Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

same as vol. 1. buy it and keep it for ref. skinner is senor smarty pants.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read 5 books reviews from academic journals. Skimmed a number of relevant sections.