Defensor Pacis – Marsilius of Padua (Records of Western Civilization Series) - Softcover

Gewirth, Marsilius Of; Nederman, Cary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0231123558 ISBN 13: 9780231123556

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Marsilius of Padua is one of the few truly revolutionary figures in the history of political philosophy. The first to propound the separation of Church and State, he is considered the precursor to subsequent political thinkers, from Machiavelli to Marx. The Marsilian revolution consisted not only in a radical change in the theory of the relations between religion and politics that culminated in the Protestant Reformation and other central developments of the modern era, but, even more importantly, it had an effect on the whole conception of human beings - their nature, acts, values, and sociopolitical relations. As Cary J. Nederman writes in the foreword to this new edition, "Marsilius continues to speak to many of the salient issues of modern political life, expressing his doctrines in a language that has resonance and relevance. Whether in addressing the role of citizenship as a buffer between individual and community, or in explicating the foundations of religious toleration, the "Defensor Pacis" (and Marsilius' other writings) affords a distinctive theoretical perspective that rivals that of any of the great thinkers of the Western political tradition."

About this title

About the Author:

Alan Gewirth is Edward Carson Waller Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago. Cary J. Nederman is professor of political science at Texas A & M University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0231123558
• ISBN 13: 9780231123556
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 560