The treatise of the French philosopher Charles de Montesquieu "On the spirit of laws" is one of the most famous works of the author. He was a supporter of a naturalistic approach to the study of the world and society, reflecting his ideas in this work. He also became famous for developing a doctrine of the separation of powers. In this article we will dwell in detail on his most famous treatise, and describe his summary.
Foreword
The treatise "On the Spirit of Laws" begins with a preface in which the author notes that the principles described were derived from nature itself. He insists that special cases always obey the general principles, and the history of any people on the planet becomes their consequence. Montesquieu believes that the rules existing in a particular country are pointless to condemn. Only those who by birth have the gift to see the entire organization of the state, as if from a bird's eye view, are entitled to offers.
In this case, the main task is education. The philosopher is obliged to cure people of prejudice. Montesquieu came up with such ideas in 1748. "About the spirit of laws" just then first appeared in print.
The laws
The author of the work “On the Spirit of Laws” notes that everything in this world has laws. Including the material and divine worlds, superhuman beings, humans and animals. The main absurdity, according to Montesquieu, is to say that blind fate rules the world.
The philosopher in the treatise "On the Spirit of Laws" states that God refers to everything as a guardian and creator. Therefore, each creation only seems an act of arbitrariness. In fact, it implies a series of inevitable rules.
At the head of all are the laws of nature that flow from the structure of the human being. In the natural state, a person begins to feel his weakness, a feeling of his own needs is connected with him. The second natural law is the desire to obtain food. The third law gave rise to mutual attraction, familiar to all living things. However, people are also bound by such threads that are unknown to animals. Therefore, the fourth law is the need to live in society.
Uniting with others, a person loses the feeling of weakness. Equality disappears, and a craving for war appears. Each individual society begins to realize its strength. They begin to determine relations among themselves, which are the basis of international law. Laws governing behavior between citizens of one country become objects of civil law.
Who rules the nations of the earth?
In the work On the Spirit of Laws, the philosopher reflects on the fact that, in the broad sense, the law is the human mind. He rules all nations on the planet, and the civil and political laws of each individual nation are nothing more than special cases of the application of this powerful mind. All these laws are in close interaction with the properties of a particular people. Only in rare cases can they be applied to some other people.
In the book "On the Spirit of Laws" Montesquieu argues that they must comply with the principles of government and nature, the climate and geographical features of the state, even the quality of the soil, as well as the way of life that people lead. They determine the degree of freedom that the state allows, its propensity for wealth, customs, trade, and customs. The totality of all these concepts he calls the "spirit of laws."
Three types of government
In his treatise, the philosopher identifies three types of government that exist in the world: monarchical, republican and despotic.
Each of them in the treatise "On the spirit of laws" S. Montesquieu describes in detail. Under the republican type of government, power belongs to the whole people or its impressive part. Under a monarchy, only one person rules a country, based on a large number of specific laws. It is characteristic of despotism that all decisions are made by the will of one person, not obeying any rules.
When in the republic all power belongs to the people, this is democracy, and if only part of it controls everything, then the aristocracy. Moreover, the people themselves are sovereign during the vote, expressing their will. So the laws adopted in this way become the main form of government.
Under an aristocratic form of government, power in the hands of a certain group of people, which itself makes laws, forces everyone around them to comply. In the treatise On the Spirit of Laws, the author believes that the worst of the aristocracy is when a part of the people is actually in civil slavery at the part of the society that rules it.
When power is granted only to one person, a monarchy is formed. In this case, the laws take care of the state system, as a result, the monarch has more opportunities for abuse.
In Montesquieu's treatise On the Spirit of Laws, the sovereign is the source of civil and political power. Moreover, there are channels through which power moves. If the privileges of the nobility and clergy are destroyed in the monarchy, it will soon pass to a popular or despotic form of government.
The book On the Spirit of Laws also describes the structure of such a despotic state. It does not exist the basic laws, as well as institutions that would monitor their compliance. In such countries, religion is gaining unprecedented power, replacing a security institution.
That is what Montesquieu's treatise On the Spirit of Laws is about. A brief summary of this work will help you quickly restore it in your memory in preparation for the exam or seminar.
Principles of government
Further, the author describes the principles of government of each type of state. In the treatise "On the Spirit of Laws" Charles Montesquieu notes that he considers honor the main thing for the monarchy, virtue for the republic, and fear for despotism.
In each individual family, the basis of the world order is the laws of upbringing. Here virtue manifests itself, which should be expressed in love for the republic. In this case, it means a love of democracy and equality. In despotism and monarchy, on the contrary, no one seeks equality, since every single person wants to rise. People from the bottom want to rise only in order to rule over others.
Since honor is the principle of monarchical rule, it is necessary that the nobility supported the laws. In despotism, many laws are not needed at all. Everything rests on several ideas there.
Decomposition
Moreover, each type of government sooner or later begins to decompose. It all starts with a decomposition of principles. In democracy, everything begins to crumble when the spirit of equality disappears. It is dangerous when he goes to extremes, if everyone wants to be equal to those whom he has chosen to lead.
In such a situation, the people begin to cease to recognize the power of the rulers, whom he himself elected. In this position, there is no room for virtue in the republic.
The monarchy begins to crumble with the gradual abolition of privileges for cities and estates. The principle of management of this type decomposes when dignitaries deprive their people of respect, turning them into a miserable instrument of arbitrariness.
The despotic state disintegrates already because it is vicious by its very nature.
Territories
Montesquieu discusses in the book “On the Spirit of Laws” and how large the state should be, depending on the form of government. The republic requires a small territory, otherwise it will be simply impossible to keep it.
Monarchies are medium-sized countries. If the state becomes too small, it turns into a republic, and if it grows, then the leaders of the state, being away from the ruler, cease to obey him.
Vast territories are a prerequisite for despotism. In this case, it is required that the remoteness of the places where orders are sent is compensated by the speed of their implementation.
As the French philosopher noted, small republics die from an external doctor, and large ones are corroded by an internal ulcer. The republics strive to unite in order to protect each other, while despotic states, on the contrary, are separated for the same purpose. The monarchy, as the author believed, never destroys itself, but a medium-sized country can undergo external invasion, therefore it requires fortresses and armies to protect the borders. Wars are waged only between monarchies, while despotic states invade one another.
Three kinds of power
Speaking about the treatise "On the spirit of laws", the brief content of this work, it should be mentioned that in each state there are three kinds of authorities: executive, legislative and judicial. If you combine the executive and legislative powers in one person, you should not wait for freedom, there will be a danger of adopting tyrannical laws. There will be no freedom if the judiciary is not separated from the other two branches.
Montesquieu introduces the concept of political slavery, which depends on climate and nature. Cold gives the body and mind a certain strength, while heat undermines the vigor and strength of people. It is interesting that the philosopher observes this difference not only among different peoples, but even within the same country, if its territory is too significant. Montesquieu notes that the cowardice suffered by representatives of the peoples of the hot climate almost always leads them to slavery. But the courage of the northern peoples kept them free.
Trade and religion
It is noteworthy that the islanders are more prone to freedom than the inhabitants of the continents. Trade has a significant impact on laws. Where there is trade, there are always the morals of the meek. In countries where people were inspired by the spirit of trade, their deeds and moral virtues have always become the subject of bargaining. In parallel, this gave rise to a sense of strict justice in people, the opposite of the desire for robbery, as well as those moral virtues that urge to pursue exclusively their own benefits.
The fact that trade corrupts people, said more Plato. At the same time, as Montesquieu wrote, she softens the mores of barbarians, since her complete absence leads to robberies. Some nations are willing to sacrifice trade advantages for political ones.
Significant influence on the laws of the country has religion. You can find those who strive for the public good, even between false religions. Although they do not lead a person to bliss in the afterlife, they contribute to his happiness on earth.
Comparing the characters of the Mohammedan and Christian religions, the philosopher rejected the first, accepting the second. It was obvious to him that religion should soften the morals of people. Montesquieu wrote that Mohammedan sovereigns sow death around themselves, dying themselves by violent death. Grief comes for humanity when religion is surrendered to the conquerors. Mohammedan religion inspires people to the spirit of extermination, which created it.
In this case, the Christian religion is alien to despotism. Thanks to the meekness attributed to her by the Gospel, she confronts the indomitable anger that prompts the ruler to cruelty and arbitrariness. Montesquieu argues that only the Christian religion prevented the establishment of despotism in Ethiopia, despite the bad climate and vast empire. As a result, the laws and customs of Europe were established right inside Africa.
The ill-fated division that befell Christianity about two centuries ago led to the fact that the northern peoples adopted Protestantism, and the southern ones remained Catholics. The reason for this is that the northern peoples have always had a spirit of freedom and independence, therefore for them a religion without a visible chapter is more in line with their ideas about the spirit of independence than that which has a conscious leader in the person of the Pope.
Human freedom
Such, in general terms, is the content of the treatise On the Spirit of Laws. Briefly described, it gives a complete picture of the ideas of the French philosopher, who argues that a person’s freedom consists primarily in not being forced to commit acts that the law does not prescribe.
State law requires a person to obey the civil and criminal law of the country in which he is located. When this rule is violated, this leads to fatal consequences. For example, these principles were broken by the Spaniards when they arrived in Peru. For example, inc Atahualp was permissible to judge only on the basis of international law, they judged him based on civil and state. The Frenchman argued that the height of recklessness at the same time was that they began to judge him on the basis of the civil and state laws of his country, which was an obvious violation.
A country necessarily requires judicial formalities, the number of which can be as large as possible. However, at the same time, citizens risk losing security and their freedom; the prosecutor will not be able to prove the charge, and the accused will not be able to justify himself.
Montesquieu separately describes the rules for drafting laws. They should be written in a concise and simple syllable, so as not to allow different interpretations. Undefined expressions should not be used. The anxiety that is caused to a person depends entirely on the degree of his impressionability. It is bad if the laws begin to go into subtleties. They do not need restrictions, exceptions, modifications. These details can only trigger new details. You cannot give laws a form that is contrary to the nature of things. As an example, the French philosopher cited the postulates of Philip II, Prince of Orange, who promised a noble title and a monetary reward to the one who committed the murder. Such a king trampled the notion of morality, honor and religion.
Finally, certain purity must be inherent in laws. If they are intended to punish human malice, then they themselves should have the highest integrity.
In reviews, readers praised this work several centuries ago, when it was only written. This treatise remains popular so far, since time only confirmed how Montesquieu was right. This has always delighted his readers and admirers.