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Six Books of the Commonwealth

Political Philosophy

Jean Bodin's Les Six Livres de la Republique (1576), the founding text of modern sovereignty theory. Defines sovereignty as the absolute and perpetual power of a commonwealth, indivisible and not subject to any earthly superior, a concept later taken up and reworked by Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau in turn.

Facts
Publication Year
1576 1
Original Language
French 1
Classification
Genre / Form
Treatise 1
Connections

Authored By

Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

In Branch

Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Written In Form

Treatise, Concepts
Sources
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Information
  • entry: Jean Bodin
    Majesty or sovereignty is the most high, absolute, and perpetual power over the citizens and subjects in a Commonwealth, which the Latins call Majestas
  • In Category: Works
  • In Branch: Political Philosophy
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