The article examines one of the few examples of a political philosopher, who has attempted to integrate a study of heraldry into his philosophical system, namely Thomas Hobbes (1588 1679) in his classic, Leviathan (1651). The article argues, that much of what Hobbes had to say of heraldry was...

Adam Smith is not normally identified as an important figure in law and economics. However, his Lectures on Jurisprudence contain a surprising number of insights that would be repeated by law and economics scholars of the late twentieth century. This essay argues for Smith’s place in law and...

This paper examines the emergence of an economic discourse separated from ethics or political philosophy. It argues that the works of Locke are a decisive moment in this process, for disclosing the existence of a sphere of the economy distinct from the sphere of the politics. Furthermore, the...

This paper examines the emergence of an economic discourse separated from ethics or political philosophy. It argues that the works of Locke are a decisive moment in this process, for disclosing the existence of a sphere of the economy distinct from the sphere of the politics. Furthermore, the...

Aristotle’s analysis of economic exchange in the Nicomachean Ethics involves two paradigms which he addresses separately but then he stresses that there is no difference between them: barter and monetary exchange. Each one of them is rendered here separately but in a mutually consistent way by...

I review the contributions to Scholastic economic philosophy made by Duns Scotus in the Opus Oxoniense, showing that Duns Scotus makes considerable advances in the understanding of exchange, the legitimization of trade, and the development of the Church's traditional teaching on usury. I then...

One of the most debated issues today in the social sciences is the relationship between ethics and economics. Martin de Azpilcueta's (1492-1586) writings on morality hold a distinguished place in the theological literature of the early modern era because he addressed many of the fundamental...

The ethical and legal thought of Thomas Aquinas and F. A. Hayek emerged out of distinct philosophical traditions. Aquinas, following the Aristotelian tradition, emphasized the inexact character of ethics and hence the mutability of law due to the contingency of particular circumstances. Hayek,...

The last three years have witnessed a dramatic turn in the public's perceptions of business. At the height of the 1990's boom, business pursuits were widely held in high esteem, with entrepreneurs, financiers, and corporate executives seen as exemplifying a multitude of virtues. With the recent...