Sovereignty and power relations in the thought of Marsilius of Padua and William of Ockham a comparison.

pp. 229-253

This paper attempts te demensfrate twe thèses: the mere explicit thesis is that beth MarsiUus of Padua and WUUam ef Ockham, come te thefr conclusiens about the reason fer, the nature ef, and the extent ef legitimate seciUar power fri men's Uves frem the same premise: that men's sensual experience ef Uvfrig life is the necessary first cenditien frem which aU subsequent ratienal conclusiens about pelitics emerge. Secendly, this paper attempts te compare and centiast seme ef the fundamental tenets ef MarsUius and Ockham en severeign power and its source, with an eye frained on the contfriuity ef politicai disceurse frem the late middle ages imtil the seventeenth century and beyend. EspeciaUy in the Anglo-American werld, medievalists tend te talk only te ene another. Early moderrrists have long resisted, imtU quite recentìy, any suggestien that what medieval politicai theorists had te say about legitimate sovereignty, its source and extent, dfrectìy fed inte these 17th and 18th century peUtical thèeries which are taken te be new beginnings of our ewn modem ideas ef the legitimate state. Hence, the secend, mere mipUcit thesis ef this paper is that a knewledge ef Ockham prepares a leader for Hobbes, and a knewledge ef MarsiUus ef Padua prepares a reader fer certam preminent aspects of the thèeries ef Locke and Rousseau.