Life Sketch

• Jean Bodin (1530–1596) was a great upholder of monarchic claims and one of the most original and enlightened thinkers in political thought.
• Born in Anjon, France, he studied law at the University of Toulouse and later served as a lecturer in law there.
• He began legal practice in Paris, spending time on scholarly pursuits alongside his professional work.
• His literary works and charming personality attracted Henry III, who appointed him King’s Attorney at Laon in 1576, the same year he published his great treatise on the State.
• In 1581, he became Secretary to the duc d’Alencon’s mission to England to seek Queen Elizabeth’s hand, but his career ended with the abortive expedition.
• He resumed legal and literary work in Laon and died of plague in 1596.
• Bodin was a scholarly and conservative thinker, inspired by the Renaissance.
• Multilingual: knew several languages, read Greek and Roman writers, and had some knowledge of scholastic thought.
• Studied the Old Testament and showed great interest in physical sciences.
• According to Professor Hearnshaw, Bodin was influenced by the Old Testament and Neo-Platonic philosophy as interpreted by Italian Platonists.

Major Works

• ‘Response’ (1569): a treatise on political economy.
• ‘Demonomanie’, ‘Heptaplomeres’, and ‘Universal Natural Theatrum’: other significant works.
• ‘De Republica’ (1576): his most important work, written during the Civil Wars to strengthen the monarchy.
  • Contains views on Heptaplomeres, nature of political society, rules of policy, and state reforms.
  • Defends politics against parties and represents the ideas of the Politiques, a group of moderate thinkers.
  • Significance: took the idea of sovereign power out of theology, providing principles of order and unity for a well-ordered state.
• ‘A Method for the Easy Understanding of History’ (about 10 years earlier than De Republica)
  • Suggested radical changes in interpretation of history and society.
  • Focused on rational and impartial writing of history.
  • Emphasized that history explains the origin and nature of law.

Times of Bodin

• Lived during the French Wars of Religion (lasting ~40 years), which brought France to the verge of ruin.
• French monarchy: weak central power, limited by clerical, noble, provincial, and communal privileges; laws varied across regions.
• Civil wars: centralized government broke down due to conflicts between Catholics and Huguenots.
• Bodin aligned with the Politiques, who:
  • Believed in political unity through suppression of parties.
  • Advocated religious toleration and order over religious interests.
  • Saw the monarch as supreme authority.
• Bodin’s philosophy:
  • Valued reason over fanaticism.
  • Promoted unity and order during times of dissension.
  • Opposed intolerance and irrational creeds.
  • Represented a blend of medieval and modern thinking, making him a child of a paradoxical age.

The Method of Bodin’s Treatment

• Bodin’s method of studying political science was historical in character, somewhat similar to Machiavelli but with a broader scope.
• He analysed the past and present conditions of many states, constantly comparing his findings.
• Sources of his study included:
  • Greek and Roman theories
  • Christian sources
  • Later medieval jurists
  • Illustrations from contemporary events
• Unlike other philosophers who derived conclusions from observed facts, Bodin marshalled facts to support already assumed conclusions.
• He aimed to identify laws governing the development and behavior of states, making them intelligible and systematic.
• Through his historical and analytical approach, Bodin:
  • Created a philosophy of history
  • Distinguished between critical and uncritical use of history and theological authority
  • Demonstrated broad erudition and philosophical insight, showing scepticism towards all human authority
• In his ‘Methodus’, Bodin:
  • Introduced a modern philosophy of history
  • Conducted an exhaustive and scientific review of human development
  • Explained principles and purposes underlying societal development
  • Discussed the influence of climate and topography on political and social institutions
  • Presented doctrines on forms and transmutations of states
  • Asserted human progress, opposing the ancient idea of deterioration from a golden age
  • In the dedicatory preface of ‘Methodus’, Bodin criticised contemporary legal study for:
    • Focusing on dull reading and absolute laws of the Romans
  • He argued that serious legal study must include systems of all peoples, especially the most advanced and enlightened
  • Bodin’s concept of legal science aligns with modern historical and comparative jurisprudence
  • He emphasized the close relationship between law and politics, both to be studied through history
  • His historical, analytical, comparative, and observational method places him among modern thinkers