Christian Wolff's natural law theory was founded on his rationalist philosophy and metaphysics, which were strongly influenced by the philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Like Leibniz, Wolff was convinced that justice and morality were based on universally valid principles of reason and that these principles were accessible to human understanding without the aid of religious revelation. Wolff did not therefore follow the voluntarist tradition of natural law, which was characteristic of Germany's two other famous natural jurists of the early Enlightenment--Samuel Pufendorf and Christian Thomasius. The laws of nature, Wolff argued, were not just because God had willed them; rather, God had willed them because they were just. According to Wolff, this natural law was the foundation of the law of nations. Wolff's work considered central issues such as the duties of nations toward themselves and other nations, the laws of war and peace, and the laws governing the treatment of diplomatic representatives. With the Liberty Fund edition, Wolff's work, heretofore relatively unknown to the English-speaking world, will again become available to scholars and students alike.

Christian Wolff's natural law theory was founded on his rationalist philosophy and metaphysics, which were strongly influenced by the philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Like Leibniz, Wolff was convinced that justice and morality were based on universally valid principles of reason and that these principles were accessible to human understanding without the aid of religious revelation. Wolff did not therefore follow the voluntarist tradition of natural law, which was characteristic of Germany's two other famous natural jurists of the early Enlightenment--Samuel Pufendorf and Christian Thomasius. The laws of nature, Wolff argued, were not just because God had willed them; rather, God had willed them because they were just. According to Wolff, this natural law was the foundation of the law of nations. Wolff's work considered central issues such as the duties of nations toward themselves and other nations, the laws of war and peace, and the laws governing the treatment of diplomatic representatives. With the Liberty Fund edition, Wolff's work, heretofore relatively unknown to the English-speaking world, will again become available to scholars and students alike.

In the European Enlightenments it was often argued that moral conduct rather than adherence to certain theological doctrines was the true measure of religious belief. Thomas Ahnert argues that this characteristically "enlightened" emphasis on conduct in religion was less reliant on arguments from reason alone than is commonly believed. In fact, the champions of the Scottish Enlightenment were deeply skeptical of the power of unassisted natural reason in achieving "enlightened" virtue and piety. They advocated a practical program of "moral culture," in which revealed religion was of central importance. Ahnert traces this to theological controversies going back as far as the Reformation concerning the key question of early modern theology, the conditions of salvation. His findings present a new point of departure for all scholars interested in the intersection of religion and Enlightenment.