Philosophy of Laws in the Renaissance Periods

Abstract

          This article examines legal philosophy in the Renaissance period. By the Renaissance we mean rich cultural development that began in the late fourteenth century. It started in Northern Italy, especially in the Republic of Firenze or Florence, then spread to the rest Italy and later throughout Europe until its end in the 17th century. Legal philosophy in the Renaissance includes the concept of sovereignty, the creation of an ideal state or utopianism, and separation of Church and state. There had been a major recovery of Ancient literature, including Greek and Roman philosophy. This rediscovery made possible for philosophers or thinks, as we called them the "Humanists" to look back to the original sources. The Renaissance's intellectual basis was its version of humanism. The rise of humanism reflected changes in Italian political life; both decline in population as a result of plague, and the political ascendancy of the so-called popolo, meaning "the people". The term refers to the middle-class whose wealth and social influence peaked with the establishment of republican governments around Italy. Humanism was, thus, in part an expression of the popolo, often highly educated merchants and lawyers who looked back to Roman history for a model of republican institutions. The intellectual ideal of the period, as still coined today the "Renaissance man" was the scholar who mastered a wide range of disciplines. Humanism was not only a philosophical movement. In this period, people also witnessed the rise of the sciences and its separation from traditional theology and philosophy.