Aristotle in the Moral Philosophy of the Early Modern Period (Treatise of H. Grotius «On the Law of War and Peace»)

Abstract

The article sets a goal to reveal the influence of ancient philosophy on the moral philosophy of the early Modern period, taking the example of H. Grotius’s reception of Aristotle's ideas in the treatise «On the Law of War and Peace». Also the article sets a goal to discover the form and content of the reception and to reveal conceptions are formed under the influence of Aristotle in Grotius’s moral philosophy. It pays special attention to the conception of justice as the central conception of Grotius’s doctrine of the natural law. The research is carried out by means of the comparative conceptual analysis, the influence is established on the basis of systematization of textual evidence of the use and borrowing of certain concepts or judgments. As a result, the types of H. Grotius’s references to Aristotle’s texts are determined. It elucidates Aristotle is mainly used as a source of information, and often his judgments are borrowed for argumentation, but the references to him as a philosopher is secondary, но обращение к нему как к философу вторично, because H. Grotius disputes most of his conceptions. However, he accepts Aristotle's methodological developments in the field of practical sciences and primarily for the systematization of social practices. It draws a conclusion Grotius’s references to Aristotle's philosophy is not systematic and show only the author's erudition. In this situation, the comparative conceptual analysis does not give a satisfactory result, because the influence is carried out at the level of cultural background of the author. Accordingly, it is impossible to obtain accurate data on the influence, and we can investigate it only by means of a very interpretative comparison of ideas.