Overall Evaluation
This is a superb introduction. It successfully tackles a complex, abstract philosophical concept and makes it not only accessible but also immediately relevant to the audience.
It brilliantly connects the dots between medieval theology, early modern imperial challenges, and enduring ethical questions.
Rating: 9.5/10 (An exemplary model of how to introduce foundational ideas in an engaging and intellectually rigorous way for a non-academic audience).
Conclusion
This text is a masterclass in intellectual history communication. It respects the audience's intelligence without overwhelming them,
and it weaves together philosophy, economics, and history into a single, compelling narrative.
The central device—showing how the same tool (Natural Law) was used to solve a simple economic problem (the just price) and then a world-historical ethical problem (colonial conquest)
—is exceptionally effective. It perfectly sets the stage for understanding how medieval moral frameworks were stretched and transformed to accommodate, and ultimately justify, the new global economic order of capitalism.
And now the lecture:
Today will not be an easy lecture, I fear, but I know that you can handle this. We have to understand the philosophical background against which capitalism developed.
Let's take a step back and listen again to Thomas Aquinas. For him, the just price represented moral equality, not mathematical precision.
He recognized that value could vary due to circumstances, like scarcity, need, or risk, but he insisted that these variations should remain within the limits of fairness.
Charging an excessively high price, especially by taking advantage of another’s necessity, constituted the sin of avarice or usury.
Behind this theory was the belief that fairness as well as the sin of avarice were not just contingent judgments by someone, but actions according to or in conflict with Natural Law.
The concept of natural law is one of the oldest and most persistent ideas in the history of Western philosophical reflection.
It is the idea that there is a moral order, a normative structure, that is not man-made, not created by convention or legislation, but inherent in reality, accessible to human reason.
Natural law is the thesis that right and wrong are not merely matters of opinion, but are grounded in the nature of human beings and the structure of the world.
Across two and a half millennia, from ancient Greece to Enlightenment-era constitutionalism, the concept has been constantly reinterpreted, secularized, and reconfigured, but never fully abandoned.
Natural law states the basic precepts of morality, knowable by reason: do good, avoid evil, preserve life, seek truth, live in society, don't steal, don't murder, and so on.
Aquinas’ theory becomes the foundation of Catholic moral theology for centuries. Natural law becomes theological and teleological, grounded in human nature as created by God.
And here we are at the University of Salamanca, the educational center of the Spanish empire, which is confronted with the discovery of new worlds, inhabited worlds.
A world of massive global events, the discovery of the Americas, conquest, an empire, first global trade networks forces new moral questions.
They have to answer them. Are native inhabitants of the Americas “natural slaves”, as some argued? Do they have natural property rights?
Do non-Christians have the same rights as Christians? Is the Spanish conquest justified? Can you just take over the land that is inhabited by other people?
The School of Salamanca had inherited Aquinas' ideas about natural law, but confronted with all these new developments, it sought a new interpretation of natural law.
Two things strike me here: questions we have asked ourselves in this class several times. The first one is related to natural law.
More than once in several projects we also have asked the question: Does there exist some kind of universal ethics? And as you see, the answer is already very old.
And a second question we have asked several times is: how do you justify occupying and taking away land from people who already live there and regard it as their territory?
The scholars of the School of Salamanca had to answer these questions too, and they did it five hundred years before us.
Main Sources:
MacMillan The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd edition
of Economic Thought (2012)
TABLE OF CONTENT -----------------------------------------------------------------
1 - 100 Philosophers 9 May 2009 Start of
2 - 25+ Women Philosophers 10 May 2009 this blog
3 - 25 Adventures in Thinking 10 May 2009
4 - Modern Theories of Ethics 29 Oct 2009
5 - The Ideal State 24 Febr 2010 / 234
6 - The Mystery of the Brain 3 Sept 2010 / 266
7 - The Utopia of the Free Market 16 Febr 2012 / 383
8. - The Aftermath of Neo-liberalism 5 Sept 2012 / 413
9. - The Art Not to Be an Egoist 6 Nov 2012 / 426
10 - Non-Western Philosophy 29 May 2013 / 477
11 - Why Science is Right 2 Sept 2014 / 534
12 - A Philosopher looks at Atheism 1 Jan 2015 / 557
13 - EVIL, a philosophical investigation 17 Apr 2015 / 580
14 - Existentialism and Free Will 2 Sept 2015 / 586
15 - Spinoza 2 Sept 2016 / 615
16 - The Meaning of Life 13 Febr 2017 / 637
17 - In Search of my Self 6 Sept 2017 / 670
18 - The 20th Century Revisited 3 Apr 2018 / 706
19 - The Pessimist 11 Jan 2020 / 819
20 - The Optimist 9 Febr 2020 / 824
21 - Awakening from a Neoliberal Dream 8 Oct 2020 / 872
22 - A World Full of Patterns 1 Apr 2021 / 912
23 - The Concept of Freedom 8 Jan 2022 / 965
24 - Materialism 7 Sept 2022 / 1011
25 - Historical Materialism 5 Oct 2023 / 1088
26 - The Bonobo and the Atheist 9 Jan 2024 / 1102
27 - Artificial Intelligence 9 Feb 2024 / 1108
28 - Why Am I Here 6 Sept 2024 / 1139
The Discussion
[13:18] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Thank you Herman
[13:18] Max Chatnoir: Thank you, Herman.
[13:18] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yes
[13:18] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:18] herman Bergson: I'll keep ny shoes on Beertje ㋡
[13:19] Max Chatnoir: How did they answer the part about taking land from the previous occupants?
[13:19] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): smiles
[13:19] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aah
[13:19] herman Bergson: I'll keep the answer for the next lecture, Max :-)
[13:20] Max Chatnoir: I was afraid of that.... But I'm glad it will be addressed!
[13:20] herman Bergson: But when you look at actual history, you already know the answer
[13:20] herman Bergson: It defintely will
[13:20] Max Chatnoir: Is natural law applicable to all humans, even the ones you didn't know about before?
[13:20] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): can this be justified ever I say? Drive people away like for ex Israel do in Palestine now?
[13:21] herman Bergson: Well....that is a bit of a problem......
[13:21] Max Chatnoir: A bit....
[13:21] herman Bergson: This idea of Natural Law was already introduced by Aristotle, but taken over by the Catholic Church...
[13:22] herman Bergson: And since that Church believed that it was the only true religion, it wondered what to do with people that weren not christians...
[13:23] Max Chatnoir: Finding a whole huge continent was probably a bit of a shock.
[13:23] herman Bergson: Were they human beings in the eye of theur God?
[13:23] Max Chatnoir: If it's "their" God, then either "they" needs expanding, or we have a Godfight.
[13:24] herman Bergson: I guess people already knew that there existed much more people than only those in europe....
[13:24] herman Bergson: in 1492...
[13:24] herman Bergson: Just think of Djengis Cahn, or the Arabs, muslims
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:25] Max Chatnoir: So they were not included in the sphere of ethics?
[13:25] herman Bergson: See the problem?! What kind of beings are non-Christian beings?
[13:26] Max Chatnoir: What did the church say about it?
[13:26] herman Bergson: Next week I can give you the answer in detail, Max ㋡
[13:26] Max Chatnoir: Super!
[13:27] herman Bergson: But I guess you see the intellectual conflict here
[13:27] herman Bergson: and the theological one...
[13:27] herman Bergson: I have not research this particular question yet in detail....so won't speculate now on an answer
[13:28] Max Chatnoir: Absolutely! OK, I have a smaller scale question.
[13:28] Max Chatnoir: You know Texas redistricted to allow gerrymandering to generate more republican districts?
[13:29] herman Bergson: What now more interesting is this question...are non-christians also respectable people or not
[13:29] Max Chatnoir: And California just voted on doin the same to even up the scale.
[13:29] herman Bergson: Prop 50
[13:29] Max Chatnoir: So is this a case of two wrongs don't make a right?
[13:30] herman Bergson: I think you have to go one step back.....
[13:30] Max Chatnoir: Or is it Virtue is going to get you a dictatorship?
[13:30] Max Chatnoir: Yes, the first wrong ought not to have been allowed.
[13:30] herman Bergson: the whole system of gerrymandering is a fundamental wrong and two states use this wrong tto keep things fair aand actually ungerrymandered
[13:31] Max Chatnoir: But they're not ungerrymandered -- they are countergerrymandered.
[13:31] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): is gerry mandering allowd in the whole US
[13:31] herman Bergson: yes you could cll it that, better word here
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): gerrymandering, isnt that election fraud?
[13:32] herman Bergson: No, because it is legal
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): it doesnt seem right in general for sure
[13:32] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): it's legal?
[13:32] Max Chatnoir: How could we go about just make it all around illegal?
[13:32] Max Chatnoir: Sorry, I didn't say that very well.
[13:32] herman Bergson: It isnt and it emerged in Boston where someone indeed used the trick as an election fraude
[13:33] herman Bergson: To solve tis problem seems to me easy
[13:33] Max Chatnoir: Please say how.
[13:34] Max Chatnoir: We have this nice-ish constitution that half the country seems ready to abandon.
[13:34] herman Bergson: Make a law in which exactly is defined how county borders have to be drawn based on the once in ten year sensus
[13:34] Max Chatnoir: Sorry, I interrupted you....
[13:35] herman Bergson: forbid intermediat redistricting
[13:36] herman Bergson: Just once in ten years based on a proper census
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): at least i found where the word comes from now. Gerrys Salamander because the district distribution of the first one looked like a salamander on the map
[13:36] Max Chatnoir: How to define how the census is to be converted to voting districts?
[13:37] Max Chatnoir: Yes!
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymander#/media/Fil:The_Gerry-Mander.png
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): origin of the term Gerrymander
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i thought it was a strange word
[13:38] herman Bergson: This actually is a task for sociologists but I'd say that every district should show a kind of average of the inhabitants of a state...
[13:38] Max Chatnoir: It is, indeed a strange word.
[13:38] herman Bergson: so not all blacks in a district, and all white rich people...
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): now i know the origin at least, why it is called that
[13:39] Max Chatnoir: good one, isn't it?
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): creative, but still very unfair practice
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): at least to me
[13:40] herman Bergson: Every district should contain a part of every social group in a state
[13:40] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Voting is a strange system in the US
[13:40] Max Chatnoir: If every district were an average of the state, you wouldn't need districts.
[13:40] Max Chatnoir: Because they would all be the same.
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): indeed, i have never understood how it works really
[13:40] herman Bergson: If all inhabitants are white for instance, then you can use income class as a means to draw districts
[13:41] Max Chatnoir: I haven't either, Bejiita.
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): its a mess everything
[13:41] herman Bergson: Not all rich in one district and all poor in another
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm
[13:41] herman Bergson: I think it works quite simple....
[13:42] herman Bergson: every district is a seat in congres, if I am not mistaken
[13:42] Max Chatnoir: Yes.
[13:42] Max Chatnoir: Jpise
[13:42] Max Chatnoir: House
[13:42] Max Chatnoir: sorry. fingers in the wrong place.
[13:42] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): ツ
[13:42] herman Bergson: so draw your district so that you only have on district where dems live and 4 districts where all reps live....and bingo
[13:43] herman Bergson: That is what they have tried in Texas....
[13:43] Max Chatnoir: Yes.
[13:43] herman Bergson: districjt that were blue or purple...change the lines sothat all reps are in the new district
[13:43] Max Chatnoir: And MY district got eaten in that one!
[13:44] herman Bergson: right...that is how it works....
[13:44] herman Bergson: If you vote Dem, MAx your vote gets overwgelmed by the rep votes and your dem candidate never can win
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and to me that is downright fraud
[13:45] Max Chatnoir: OK, so states with a lot of people have more districts than states with fewer people. House districts.
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): 100%
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): it is like vote manipulation but on another level/plane
[13:45] herman Bergson: I don't know how districts are defined...maybe on number of people ibin a state
[13:46] Max Chatnoir: I would assume so, but I'll have to google it.
[13:46] herman Bergson: Yes all answers can be found......
[13:46] herman Bergson: We are digressing so let me add more oil to the digression fire....
[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): WOOOOOSHHHH!
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok go on
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:47] herman Bergson: Trump said he would be president in 2025....
[13:47] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): so, all democrats in Texas have never the chance to vote blue
[13:47] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): their vote doesn't count anyway
[13:47] herman Bergson: And I saw in interview with stege Bannon who was asked how this can be?
[13:47] herman Bergson: He answered...no worries, we have a plan...
[13:48] Max Chatnoir: Well, you can't just take the state average. Well, I guess we effectively do that in the senate.
[13:48] herman Bergson: that response kept me really thinking and all of a sudden I saw the trick....
[13:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok
[13:48] herman Bergson: Make a rep win the precidendy and make Trump vice president...
[13:49] herman Bergson: Then the newly elected president abdicates...feell a bit ill or so and oops..Trump is president :-)
[13:49] Max Chatnoir: You mean, choose the president from among the elected representatives?
[13:49] herman Bergson: No the vice president becomes UNELECTED automatically preisent
[13:50] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): yes
[13:50] Max Chatnoir: I think the VP sort of does that now.
[13:50] herman Bergson: And I asked this Google AI....
[13:50] Max Chatnoir: If something happens to the pres.
[13:50] herman Bergson: ANd the response was super fun.....
[13:51] Max Chatnoir: Ooh tell!
[13:51] herman Bergson: This "plan" had occured in dozens of the same questions...
[13:51] herman Bergson: Many people had the same idea as I had
[13:52] herman Bergson: But rest assured.....the answer is....plan won't work based on the 12th and 22nd amendament of the constitution :-)
[13:53] herman Bergson: But I had fun with "my" solution and the plethora of answers I found
[13:54] herman Bergson: The free access to AJ makes a powerhouse of your computer and handy
[13:54] herman Bergson: This means that you now have a whole weekend to have fun with Artificial INtelligence ㋡
[13:55] Max Chatnoir: :-)
[13:55] herman Bergson: AI becomes the New Law of Nature :-)))
[13:55] herman Bergson: Thank you all again.... ㋡
[13:56] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Thank you Herman
[13:56] herman Bergson: Class dismissed ....
[13:56] Max Chatnoir: And it's totally democratic because AI trains on everybody's entries
[13:56] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): true
[13:56] bergfrau Apfelbaum: thank you Herman and class! clap clap
[13:56] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well this was an interesting oe for sure
[13:56] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): one
[13:56] Max Chatnoir: Very interesting!
[13:56] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:57] herman Bergson: Thank you ....but as you have learned now...I have a good mentor ㋡
[13:57] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): :))
[13:57] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): we have too
[13:57] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:57] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yes!
[13:57] herman Bergson: thank you ㋡
[13:57] Max Chatnoir: :-) yes
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