Debating Medieval Natural Law: A Survey - Hardcover

"With exemplary scholarship, Riccardo Saccenti provides a clear and unbiased presentation of the evolution of natural law theory, practice, and interpretation from the Middle Ages to the present. His welcome and original work expands our understanding of how medieval natural law, and in particular how the relationship between natural rights and both the church and society, has been viewed by original authors and scholars. This is a valuable resource in its thorough and even-handed treatment of primary sources as well as its inclusion of the vast secondary literature." —Mark Clark, Catholic University of America

"Scholars from the early twentieth century to the present have disagreed on how to interpret the multiform traditions of natural law in medieval thought and their relations to modern natural law theories. In addition to providing a lucid and up-to-date survey of the historiography of this debate, placing its participants in their own disciplinary and methodological contexts, Riccardo Saccenti also argues persuasively for a more holistic approach to this subject. His valuable study should be required reading for scholars interested in medieval natural law theories, both in their own right and in their continuing relevance to philosophy, theology, law, and political theory." —Marcia L. Colish, Yale University

"Thoroughly conversant with primary and secondary sources, Riccardo Saccenti offers a new approach to divergent interpretations of the idea of natural law in the Middle Ages. With a rare blend of philosophical competence and historical perceptivity, he succeeds in explaining the positions of acknowledged scholars, such as Finnis, Oakley, Tierney, Nederman, and Brett, both in their presuppositions and in their relevance for current discussions on natural rights. While previous contributions risk being one-sided or limited by their polemical attitude, Debating Medieval Natural Law gives for the first time a comprehensive and balanced survey of the many issues at stake. A long-awaited, reliable guide through the intriguing and sophisticated debates about the origins of a crucial and controversial idea of Western civilization." —Roberto Lambertini, University of Macerata

Riccardo Saccenti is a scholar at the Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose Giovanni XXIII in Bologna and teaches history of medieval philosophy at the University of Bologna.