Notes on Law, between Facultas and Potestas

Reflections on Some Second Scholasticism Sources in Rosmini’s «Filosofia del diritto» (B)

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an initial exploration of the hypothesis that the legal theories of Second Scholasticism influenced Rosmini’s Filosofia del diritto. To this end, the history of natural law and legal science has been revisited from a Rosminist point of view, so that his original theory can be contextualized; moreover, some of Rosmini’s definitions of the essence of right have been considered. These definitions are compared with conceptions of ius developed by leading thinkers of the Spanish Siglo de Oro, who define ius in terms of facultas or potestas. It is worth pointing out that Rosmini does not refer to these thinkers in his analysis of the matter.