Notes on the origin of political power according to Francisco de Vitoria

Abstract

This text deals in a general way with some brief remarks on the conception of God as the origin of political power in Francisco de Vitoria (1486-1546) in the sixteenth century. In the Relectio de potestate civili, § 6 (Conference on Political Power), the Spanish Dominican analyzes the causes of political power, especially the efficient cause of political power, and says: Quae enim apud omnes naturalia sunt, a Deo auctore naturae, sine dubio (Indeed, what is natural to all men comes undoubtedly from God, the author of nature). The major contribution of Vitoria's philosophy consists in the theological and philosophical-juridical formulation of God as an efficient cause of political power. My objective in this work is to analyze and reconstruct the arguments that Vitoria uses to elaborate his doctrine on the origin of political power. My hypothesis is that this idea is rooted in Aristotelian and theological thought. My strategy for constructing these brief remarks is organized as follows: I. Introduction; II. Analysis of the nature of political power III. Themes; IV. The theory of political power: in search of the efficient cause; V. Conclusion.