Vitoria: Political Writings (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) [Paperback]

Francisco de Vitoria (Author), Anthony Pagden (Editor), Jeremy Lawrance (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 1992 | ISBN-10: 052136714X | ISBN-13: 978-0521367141

Francisco Vitoria was the earliest and arguably the most important of the Thomist philosophers of the counter-Reformation. His works are of great importance for an understanding of both the rise of modern absolutism, and the debate about the emergent imperialism of the European powers, and are unusually accessible since they survive in the form of summaries of his lecture courses on law and theology. Translated here into English for the first time, these texts comprise the core of Vitoria's thought, and are accompanied by a comprehensive introduction, chronology, and bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

Francisco Vitoria was the earliest and arguably most important of the Thomist philosophers of the counter-Reformation. This original translation of his thought is accompanied by a comprehensive introduction, chronology and bibliography.

Product Details

• Paperback: 442 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 31, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052136714X
• ISBN-13: 978-0521367141
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #401,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Source for a Little-Known Philosopher, April 11, 2011

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This review is from: Vitoria: Political Writings (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) (Paperback)

Fransisco de Vitoria is not as well known as many of his contemporaries, but his insights are particularly poignant and relevant today. Vitoria was trained as a theologian and taught theology at the University of Salamanca for two decades. But Vitoria follows closely in the pre-modern line of thought that treats Theology as a branch of rational philosophy, and most of Vitoria's writing treats the philosophical justifications or criticisms for various practices. Vitoria stands in the tradition of Aristotle and Aquinas (while frequently citing both), and his philosophy is similarly grounded in the empirical.

Vitoria is most notable for his evaluation of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. His chapter, On the American Indians, discusses both legitimate and illegitimate titles the Spanish claimed for themselves in their invasions. Of further relevance is his chapter, On War, in which Vitoria defends a "just war" theory on grounds of protecting the rights of individuals, but he goes further in permitting nations to go beyond necessary means to exert "just punishment" upon wrongdoers.

Much of Vitoria's writing will seem foreign to the modern mind, including his tripartite analysis of every subject, beginning with divine law, moving to natural law, and finally utilizing human law. But Vitoria's thinking is uniquely applicable to a world like ours, in which issues of human rights, colonization, democratization, and just war are part and parcel of daily discussion.