Leibniz on learning and teaching the science of law

Abstract

I would like to think of this contribution as a continuation of my last conversation with Peter Serracino Inglott. My doctoral thesis, which I had then just defended, included a short reference to Leibniz's A New Method for Learning and Teaching Jurisprudence (1667) and to his idea of a universal jurisprudence. Fr Peter, who had a refined penchant for footnotes and always encouraged his students to delve into apparent tangents, suggested that these and other aspects of Leibniz's legal and political philosophy could be put to good use in a course on 'Baroque philosophy' which he had asked me to teach together with him some years ago. Although the roots of the term 'baroque' may be traced back to the mnemonic word 'baroco' used in medieval logic to represent a particular kind of syllogism, its use in the history of philosophy does not enjoy the currency that 'medieval philosophy' or 'Renaissance philosophy' do. Yet, Serracino Inglott thought that 'it is just as appropriate to speak of baroque philosophy, as it is to speak of baroque sculpture and architecture'.