Nature and Normativity in Fourteenth- to Seventeenth-century Thought

Nature and Normativity in Fourteenth- to Seventeenth-century Thought

A central Aristotelian idea is that moral and political norms are grounded in human nature. Human beings are understood as continuous with the rest of nature. Just as an acorn develops into an oak in accordance with its nature, so too do human beings develop in accordance with their nature, namely, to live virtuous lives within political communities.

This conference investigates how the link between nature and normativity was understood in Late Scholastic and Renaissance thought. To what extent was the Aristotelian framework preserved, and in what ways was it rethought and challenged?

The event forms part of the research project Nature and Norms (funded by the Swedish Research Council), which examines how shifting conceptions of nature in natural philosophy reshaped views of moral and political norms. A central thesis is that new conceptions of nature in mechanistic terms eroded the foundations of traditional natural norms. This raises the broader historical question: did these developments prepare the way for contractualist theories of society, such as those advanced by Hobbes and Locke?

For this conference, we especially encourage comparative work that brings late scholastic discussions into dialogue with early modern philosophy.

Questions central to the conference include (but are not limited to):

• How do human beings distinguish themselves from the rest of nature

• Are moral and legal norms themselves natural norms? If not, how are they conceived?

• What constitutes a political society?

• Must a just society be founded on consensus?

• Are contractual theories of society already present in late scholastic thought?

• What is the status of slavery and serfdom? Are there “natural slaves”?

• What sources for late scholastic views of human society remain neglected?

• How did early modern thinkers engage with scholastic predecessors, and what was the outcome of these engagements?

Keynotes:

Annabel Brett FBA

Professor of Political Thought and History

University of Cambridge

Cary J. Nederman

Professor of Political Science

Texas A&M University

Dates and location 

May 28-29, 2026 

Stockholm University, Stockholm