The Terror of Natural Right

Republicanism, the Cult of Nature, and the French Revolution

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, French, European
Cover of the book The Terror of Natural Right by Dan Edelstein, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Dan Edelstein ISBN: 9780226184401
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: October 15, 2009
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Dan Edelstein
ISBN: 9780226184401
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: October 15, 2009
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

Natural right—the idea that there is a collection of laws and rights based not on custom or belief but that are “natural” in origin—is typically associated with liberal politics and freedom. In The Terror of Natural Right, Dan Edelstein argues that the revolutionaries used the natural right concept of the “enemy of the human race”—an individual who has transgressed the laws of nature and must be executed without judicial formalities—to authorize three-quarters of the deaths during the Terror. Edelstein further contends that the Jacobins shared a political philosophy that he calls “natural republicanism,” which assumed that the natural state of society was a republic and that natural right provided its only acceptable laws. Ultimately, he proves that what we call the Terror was in fact only one facet of the republican theory that prevailed from Louis’s trial until the fall of Robespierre.

A highly original work of historical analysis, political theory, literary criticism, and intellectual history, The Terror of Natural Right challenges prevailing assumptions of the Terror to offer a new perspective on the Revolutionary period.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Natural right—the idea that there is a collection of laws and rights based not on custom or belief but that are “natural” in origin—is typically associated with liberal politics and freedom. In The Terror of Natural Right, Dan Edelstein argues that the revolutionaries used the natural right concept of the “enemy of the human race”—an individual who has transgressed the laws of nature and must be executed without judicial formalities—to authorize three-quarters of the deaths during the Terror. Edelstein further contends that the Jacobins shared a political philosophy that he calls “natural republicanism,” which assumed that the natural state of society was a republic and that natural right provided its only acceptable laws. Ultimately, he proves that what we call the Terror was in fact only one facet of the republican theory that prevailed from Louis’s trial until the fall of Robespierre.

A highly original work of historical analysis, political theory, literary criticism, and intellectual history, The Terror of Natural Right challenges prevailing assumptions of the Terror to offer a new perspective on the Revolutionary period.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Books Do Furnish a Room by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book Science in the Marketplace by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book The Nature of Diversity by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book The Atheist's Bible by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book Wicked Intelligence by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book Aristotle by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book Conversionary Sites by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book History of Religious Ideas, Volume 1 by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book You'll Know When You Get There by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book The Pure Theory of Capital by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book The Government of Desire by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book The Red Atlas by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book The Craft of Scientific Communication by Dan Edelstein
Cover of the book Sweet Science by Dan Edelstein
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy