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Respubica Secularis. Francisco de Vitoria on man, power and the common good
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to analyze Francisco de Vitoria’s concept of the state and its theological foundations.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHOD: The main problem addressed in this article is the genesis and limits of political authority in Francisco de Vitoria’s political theology. It attempts to reconstruct the political order in the new political, social, and religious context of the sixteenth century. The disintegration of the unity of Christianitas and the development of political and ecclesiastical particularisms led to the questioning of the previous foundations on which the medieval state and social order had been built. De Vitoria’s proposal seeks to restore political unity, not by appealing to a common religion, but by invoking universal principles derived from natural law.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The article reconstructs the main elements of de Vitoria’s argument based on natural law, from which he derives the social nature of man, the necessity of political power, the conventional nature of political systems, the limits of power, the definition of tyranny, and the right to resist.
RESEARCH RESULTS: De Vitoria’s political theology suggests alternative possibilities for solving the problem of the unity of the political order, based not on the principle of sovereignty and the absolute power of the state, but on natural law, which is common to all people, regardless of religion, and originates in reason, participating in the universal order.
CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The article demonstrates Catholic theology’s articulation of a concept of political order based on moral principles that are common to all people.
Keywords
Vitoria, sovereignty, natural law
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