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Montesquieu's Philosophy of Liberalism: A Commentary on The Spirit of the Laws
This first comprehensive commentary on The Spirit of the Laws uncovers and explicates the plan of Montesquieu's famous but baffling treatise. Pangle brings to light Montesquieu's rethinking of the philosophical groundwork of liberalism, showing how The Spirit of the Laws enlarges and enriches the liberal conception of natural right by means of a new appeal to History as the source of basic norms.
- GenresPhilosophy
352 pages, Paperback
Published July 15, 1989
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June 1, 2021
I read this book alongside Montesquieu's "Spirit of the Laws" and recommend it for anyone reading that book. Montesquieu style of writing is at once very brief and straightforward and yet also full of extensive detail on legal and historical matters. It is therefore easy to get lost in the book, especially given that Montesquieu often shies away from explicitly drawing connections between his sections or fully explaining the reasons behind his coverage of every topic or detail. Pangle's book helped draw out the connections between sections and the reasons behind Montesquieu's writing further than I was able to do on my own.
The chapters cover Montesquieu's book in general chronological fashion, though not on a one-to-one relationship for each part of Montesquieu. I found Pangle's book particularly helpful in its treatment of Montesquieu vis-à-vis other philosophers (including Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau), and in being clear-eyed about what Montesquieu explicitly or implicitly recommended through his book. Montesquieu recommends reforming and updating the French system, including by replacing the estates-based system with one based on the separation of powers, and by embracing commerce as a path forward for the prosperity and durability of French power within international relations. At the same time, Montesquieu encourages moderation and pragmatism in reforming the system - he doesn't call for the radical level of change later enacted under the French Revolution.
I found Pangle's treatment of the last section on French laws particularly helpful - this part of the book to some extent reads like a very longwinded appendix. While still too longwinded, Pangle's treatment helped me make better sense of this section, both in showing how this treatment was part of a conversation between French scholars at the time, and in how the treatment of early French history and early French laws was a continuation and expansion of Montesquieu's particular state of nature narrative (one that included the evolution of political societies influenced by different climates). Pangle also helped make clearer how this treatment was part of Montesquieu's argument for looking to England to reform the French system - in arguing for greater similarities between the early French and early English systems Montesquieu was making the argument that it was possible and realistic to adapt the nature and spirit of the French system of government to be in some ways closer to that of England.
While this book can be read on its own, I recommend reading it alongside Montesquieu (either alongside the entire book or alongside significant excerpts).
The chapters cover Montesquieu's book in general chronological fashion, though not on a one-to-one relationship for each part of Montesquieu. I found Pangle's book particularly helpful in its treatment of Montesquieu vis-à-vis other philosophers (including Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau), and in being clear-eyed about what Montesquieu explicitly or implicitly recommended through his book. Montesquieu recommends reforming and updating the French system, including by replacing the estates-based system with one based on the separation of powers, and by embracing commerce as a path forward for the prosperity and durability of French power within international relations. At the same time, Montesquieu encourages moderation and pragmatism in reforming the system - he doesn't call for the radical level of change later enacted under the French Revolution.
I found Pangle's treatment of the last section on French laws particularly helpful - this part of the book to some extent reads like a very longwinded appendix. While still too longwinded, Pangle's treatment helped me make better sense of this section, both in showing how this treatment was part of a conversation between French scholars at the time, and in how the treatment of early French history and early French laws was a continuation and expansion of Montesquieu's particular state of nature narrative (one that included the evolution of political societies influenced by different climates). Pangle also helped make clearer how this treatment was part of Montesquieu's argument for looking to England to reform the French system - in arguing for greater similarities between the early French and early English systems Montesquieu was making the argument that it was possible and realistic to adapt the nature and spirit of the French system of government to be in some ways closer to that of England.
While this book can be read on its own, I recommend reading it alongside Montesquieu (either alongside the entire book or alongside significant excerpts).
Displaying 1 of 1 review