Pufendorf on Natural Equality, Human Dignity, and Self-Esteem

Abstract

While the idea that human beings are somehow equal by nature has a long history, it became a topic of more intense philosophical reflection in the seventeenth century, when Thomas Hobbes, Samuel Pufendorf, and John Locke used this notion to articulate their doctrines of the state of nature and the contractual origins of human power relations. These three theorists were not the most egalitarian political writers of the seventeenth century, but they presented their rival views on the character, foundation, and consequences of natural human equality in greater detail than any of their contemporaries. Today, this philosophical discourse on natural equality is best known from the works of Hobbes and Locke. However, no one in the seventeenth century had more to say about natural equality than Pufendorf, whose massive main work on natural law, De jure naturae et gentium (1672), included a long chapter on the topic. This was the most extensive theoretical discussion of natural equality in seventeenth-century political theory. It was also widely read, as Pufendorf's main work, together with its abridged version De officio hominis et civis (1673), was translated into several European languages and reprinted numerous times in the eighteenth century. 1 Author's note: I would like to thank Petter Korkman, Sami-Juhani Savonius-Wroth, Mikko Tolonen, and the two anonymous reviewers for their perceptive comments on earlier versions of this paper. 1 The standard editions of these two works are De jure naturae et gentium.

Pufendorf and Leibniz on duties of esteem in diplomatic relations

“…But it certainly derives its interest from the problems that power-oriented conceptions of esteem create in political reality. Pufendorf’s treatment of duties of esteem in De jure naturae et gentium is complex and comprises at least three different themes: (1) duties of esteem based on commonly shared natural rights and natural duties (Pufendorf, 1684: 5.2.1–7; see Hruschka, 2000: 191–193; Saastamoinen, 2010); (2) duties of esteem based on the degree of the fulfillment of duties of natural law and of the obeyance of positive laws (1684: 8.4.2–10; see Haara and Lahdenranta, 2018; Haara, 2018: 120–125; Haara & Stuart-Buttle, 2019: 709–714); and (3) duties of esteem based on the political agency of sovereigns in defining a hierarchically structured order of social positions (1684: 8.4.11–32). Here, I will be concerned with the third theme—a theme that has not, as I far as I can determine, found much sustained attention from commentators.…”

Natural Equality and Natural Law in Locke’s Two Treatises

“…Since natural law requires us to maintain peaceful sociality with all human beings, everyone 'must esteem and treat other men as his natural equals, or men in the same sense as he'.20 This happens, above all, by recognising that relations of domination and servitude are never established by nature alone, but always include an element of consent. 21 Locke was aware of the popularity of natural equality already when he wrote the essay nowadays called 'Second Tract on Government' (c. 1662). There, he explained how authors discussing the origins of civil power can be divided into two rival camps.…”