
The Terror of Natural Right
Republicanism, the Cult of Nature, and the French Revolution
Dan Edelstein(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Published on 1. October 2009
Book
Hardback
350 pages
978-0-226-18438-8 (ISBN)
Description
Natural right - the idea that there is a collection of laws and rights based not on custom or belief but that are 'natural' in origin - is typically associated with liberal politics and freedom. "In The Terror of Natural Right", Dan Edelstein argues that the revolutionaries of eighteenth-century France used the natural right concept of the 'enemy of the human race' - an individual who has transgressed the laws of nature and must be executed without judicial formalities - to authorize three-quarters of the deaths during the Terror. Edelstein further contends that the Jacobins shared a political philosophy that he calls 'natural republicanism,' which assumed that the natural state of society was a republic and that natural right provided its only acceptable laws. Ultimately, he proves that what we call the Terror was in fact only one facet of the republican theory that prevailed from Louis's trial until the fall of Robespierre. A highly original work of historical analysis, political theory, literary criticism, and intellectual history, "The Terror of Natural Right" challenges prevailing assumptions about the Terror to offer a new perspective on the Revolutionary period.
Reviews / Votes
"The most provocative argument in his book is that the ideas that made the revolution spiral out of control were the cult of nature and the belief in natural rights." (Notion)"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Dimensions
Height: 24 mm
Width: 17 mm
Thickness: 3 mm
Weight
737 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-18438-8 (9780226184388)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Edelstein Dan Edelstein
Terror of Natural Right
Republicanism, the Cult of Nature, and the French Revolution
E-Book
10/2009
1st Edition
University of Chicago Press
€42.99
Available for download
Person
Dan Edelstein is associate professor of French at Stanford University.