SİYASAL DÜŞÜNCE

Lying to an enemy is by no means justifiable, because lying would severely harm the trust required to restore peace after war

John of Salisbury argues that what nature provides as foundation for human capabilities are only potentialities. “ The beginning of each thing is from nature”, says John of Salisbury, but people may (and should) develop their natural capacities by means of practice until they master their art, a principle that “obtains in liberal and mechanical occupations” alike

John of Paris is strictly in opposition with Aquinas’ inference that the pope ought to direct the secular ruler. He argues that the basis of the distinction between the two powers does not lie in the subject matter or ends, but only in means: each power is limited to its own appropriate means of action; the secular power uses natural means, the Church uses supernatural means. With regard to property, he argues that because a ruler has a right to judge on how to use property disputes does not make him the supreme owner of the property, and although property is acquired under the human law, it is acquired by individuals, not directly by rulers.

Marsilius of Padua refutes the doctrine of papal fullness of power and, argues that the pope is not and should not be the source of government power.

All of the above reflect William of Ockham’s view.

Women should, in general, be ruled by men. The inferiority of women was already the general opinion in the medieval ages, but Aristotle also reinforced it.

The Bible consists of two major parts/books: The Old Testament and The New Testament. In general, The Bible is used to refer to the whole legacy, The Old Testament refers uniquely to Judaism and the New Testament to Christianity. Therefore, references to each book will be made through verses and numbers.

Christianity is agreed to be indifferent to matters of slavery; which is also compatible with the Ancient Greek thought. The following quotations from the different parts of The New Testament show that slavery is not considered a big social problem in the eyes of Christianity.

The Christian theologians of late antiquity are referred to as the Fathers of the Church. The most influential of them in medieval Europe was Augustine; others included Ambrose, Cyprian, and Gregory (ibid). Many of the Fathers were influenced by the Platonism and Stoicism, as every educated person became acquainted within the ancient world.

John of Salisbury’s view that the good government of the king, typified by rule in accordance with the virtuous mean (the midpoint between excess and deficiency, as Aristotle once had put it), is regarded by the Policraticus to be the sole guarantee of freedom necessary to exercise moral goodness in a society is another preliminary step to take.

early modern writers such as Hugo Grotius, Niccolo Macchiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, etc. could easily find the works of some medieval writers who had written on political issues or would have an idea about the main themes of such works at least through hearsay.