Cicero's De Legibus :
How does cicero define justice in a society?

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC–43 BC) was the first legal philosopher in history. In Cicero's thought we can find the Stoic conception of Natural Law, i.e., that Law is derived from God, Nature (Universe) and Human Reason. Indeed, Cicero inherits from Stoicism the Pantheistic view of Natural Law as right Reason in agreement with Nature and God (who is its author, its promulgator and its enforcing judge as well). It is a true Law of universal application, unchanging and everlasting, valid for all nations and all times. While Cicero derived many ideas on Natural Law from the Greeks, he also contributed some key ideas of his own, for instance, that whoever seeks to disobey the Natural Law flees from himself and rejects man's nature. In other words, when man obeys the Natural Law he is obeying not only a natural and divine rule but also a rule that he gives himself as a fully rational and autonomous legislator. In this piece of research I will focus on the key aspects of Cicero's Natural Law Theory through three masterpieces of his legal and political thought: De Re Publica, De Legibus and De Officiis, which had great influence over the medieval Christian conception of Natural Law through Lactantius (one of the Church Fathers) and Thomas Aquinas (the father of Thomism and considered the greatest theologian and philosopher of the Church).

Journal Information

Das Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie, herausgegeben im Auftrag der Internationalen Vereinigung für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie (IVR), leistet seit 1907 philosophische Grundlagenforschung innerhalb der Rechtswissenschaft: Schwerpunkt ist das geistige Fundament des Sozial- und Rechtslebens sowie seine Verflechtungen und Auswirkungen. Die Zeitschrift berücksichtigt dabei alle Denkrichtungen der Gegenwart, besonderer Wert wird auf eine internationale Ausrichtung gelegt. Alle Artikel beweisen ihr wissenschaftliches Niveau in einem peer review-Verfahren. Das Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie ("Archive for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy") is published on behalf of the International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (IVR). It has carried out fundamental research in the philosophy of jurisprudence since 1907 with a focus on the intellectual foundation of social life and legal culture as well as their interconnections and consequences. The journal includes all contemporary schools of thought and places particular value on an international perspective. The high scholarly quality of all articles is ensured by a peer-review process.

Publisher Information

Franz Steiner is one of Germany's most prominent academic publishing houses. Our focal point is ancient history, but also social and economic history, as well as history of science; furthermore regional studies, Eastern European history and transatlantic studies. We oversee more than 150 serial publications as well as 28 periodicals and publish such renowned series as Historia, Hermes and Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie. We only publish those projects which proved their academic value in external anonymous peer assessments.

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