Natural Rights Theories: Their Origin and Development

by Richard Tuck

This book shows how political argument in terms of rights and natural rights began in medieval Europe, and how the theory of natural rights was developed in the seventeenth century after a period of neglect in the Renaissance. Dr Tuck provides a new understanding of the importance of Jean Gerson in the formation of the theories, and of Hugo Grotius in their development; he also restores the Englishman John Selden's ideas to the prominence they once enjoyed, and shows how Thomas Hobbes's political theory can best be understood against this background. In general, the book enables us to understand more fully the characteristics of the natural rights theories available to the men of the Enlightenment, and thereby to appreciate the complexity and equivocal nature of modern right theories.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Politics, Law, Nonfiction

196 pages, Paperback

First published December 6, 1979

About the author

Richard Tuck is Professor of Government Department. Professor Tuck is a premier scholar of the history of political thought. His works include Natural Rights Theories (1979), Hobbes (1989), and Philosophy and Government, 1572-1651 (1993). They address a variety of topics including political authority, human rights, natural law, and toleration, and focus on a number of thinkers including Hobbes, Grotius, Selden, and Descartes. His current work deals with political thought and international law, and traces the history of thought about international politics from Grotius, Hobbes, Pufendorf, Locke, and Vattel, to Kant. He is also engaged in a work on the origins of twentieth century economic thought; in it he argues that the 'free rider' problem was only invented, as a problem, in recent decades. Thus his interests to a remarkable degree span concerns in all subfields of the discipline.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very dense book that presupposes familiarity with the authors in question. I didn't expect it to be particularly helpful for my current interests, but it turns out it might be of much use. I can't stress enough, though, that Tuck is a master at political theory-through-intellectual history - he should be on the shelves of all theorists.

[Didier "Dirac Ghost" Gaulin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great synthesis of the development of natural rights theories from early scholastics, to Grotius , Hobbes and Locke. Rather short, it is a great way to start over the subject of the history of the modern conception of rights, in the Anglo-Saxon world.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned, lucid and compelling.

[Caomianzhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our reading group's Second book. A clear and concise guide to the history of natural rights. Tuck is more a historian than a theorist, however, reading this brings precious chance to review related discussion on natural right, leaving our group much room for further reading. Leo Strauss, for example, is an important scholar while talking about previous topic, as a lot of attending friends reminds of him.
Tuck is a leading scholar of Cambridge school in history of thoughts in political theory. He is accurate, smart and hard-working. A nice tour.

[La-Shanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natural Rights are equitable for human beings of any race or ethnicity! All citizens possess the rights of life, liberty, and security. Richard Tuck uses Cicero's De Republica to account for man's natural rights...