Abstract

The aim of this essay is to explore the persistence of classical ethics’ formal structures in modernity and to show how the legal discourse of sovereignty draws from it some of its essential and grounding elements. I will revisit some classic loci from Plato’s and Aristotle’s works in order to focus on the relationship between the Aristotelian-Thomistic intellectualism and the Hobbesian political theory. It will thus be possible to unveil connections that are still manifest in later grounding works of the canon, such as Rousseau’s The Social Contract.