Focusing on John Milton's Paradise Lost , this book investigates
the metaphorical identification of nature with a court of law - an
old and persistent trope, haunted by ancient aporias, at the
intersection of jurisprudence, philosophy and literature. In an
enormous variety of texts, from the Greek beginnings of Western
literature onward, nature has been described as a courtroom in
which an all- encompassing trial takes place and a universal
verdict is executed. The first, introductory part of this study
sketches an overview of the metaphor's development in European
history, from antiquity to the seventeenth century. In its second,
more extensive part, the book concentrates on Milton's epic
Paradise Lost in which the problem of the natural law court finds
one of its most fascinating and detailed articulations. Using
conceptual tools provided by Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Hans
Blumenberg, Gilles Deleuze, William Empson and Alfred North
Whitehead, the study demonstrates that the conflicts in Milton's
epic revolve around the tension between a universal legal procedure
inherent in nature and the positive legal decrees of the deity. The
divine rule is found to consolidate itself by Nature's
supplementary shadow government; their inconsistencies are not
flaws, but rather fundamental rhetorical assets, supporting a law
that is inherently "double- formed". In Milton's world, human
beings are thus confronted with a twofold law that entraps them in
its endlessly proliferating double binds, whether they obey or not.
The analysis of this strange juridical structure can open up new
perspectives on Milton's epic, as well as on the way legal
discourse tends to entangle norms with facts and thus to embed
itself in human life. This original and intriguing book will appeal
not only to those engaged in the study of Milton, but also to
anyone interested in the relationship between law, history,
literature and philosophy.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
