Skip to main content

Publication Details

Was Hugo Grotius a Rationalist?

(Original title: Was Hugo Grotius a Rationalist?)
Filozofia, 78 (2023), 8, 619 - 633.
Type of work: Original Articles
Publication language: English
Abstract
Scholars situate Grotius at the origin of more geometrico rationalism. According to this reading, he is responsible for the transition from a dialectical to a deductivist interpretation of the naturally just. Grotius, however, neither deems ethics explainable through mathematics, nor does he think that reason alone determines whether an action is right or wrong. Without nature, he maintains, reason is an empty measure.
Keywords

Hugo Grotius, Modern rationalism, More geometrico rationalism, Etiamsi daremus hypothesis, Natural law

File to download: PDF