THE COMMON SENSE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF JAMES WILSON (1742–1798)
THE COMMON SENSE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF JAMES WILSON (1742–1798)
Author(s): Roberta BayerSubject(s): Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Published by: International Étienne Gilson Society
Keywords: natural law; Étienne Gilson; constitution; James Wilson; William Blackstone; Alasdair MacIntyre; John Locke; Richard Hooker; David Hume; skepticism; liberty; freedom; despotism
Summary/Abstract: James Wilson (1742–1798), lawyer, Justice of the first Supreme Court of the United States, and Constitutional Framer argued, as did Étienne Gilson, that a citizenry who have adopted philosophical skepticism will lose their political freedom, as self-rule requires that citizens be able to reason rightly about the natural law. He advocated a common sense philosophical education in natural law for all lawyers, so that they might know the first principles of moral reasoning.
Journal: Studia Gilsoniana
- Issue Year: 4/2015
- Issue No: 3
- Page Range: 187-207
- Page Count: 21
- Language: English
