Jean Barbeyrac

Samuel Pufendorf’s The Whole Duty of Man, According to the Law of Nature suggested a purely conventional basis for natural law. Rejecting scholasticism’s metaphysical theories, Pufendorf found the source of natural law in humanity’s need to cultivate sociability. Samuel Pufendorf (1632–1694) taught natural law and was court historian in both Germany and Sweden. Ian Hunter is Australian Professorial Fellow in…