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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2022

Lex Paulson
Affiliation:
Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique, Morocco
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Summary

The introduciton opens my exploration of Cicero’s notion of will. I argue that the will is an original Latin contribution to the Western mind. Cicero’s letters, speeches, and treatises show how his skill for language gave him a subtler take on events and a richer repertoire of persuasion. Practical uses of will are foremost: mapping alliances, winning elections, and navigating the “economy of goodwill.” From his earliest writings, however, voluntas emerges in normative claims about law and politics: that Rome’s mass of precedents could be rationalized through Greek ideas. Chief among these is Plato’s precept that reason must rule, and thus an alliance of philosophy and tradition can save the dying Republic. Transmuting political failure into philosophical innovation, Cicero lays the foundation for an idea – the will and its freedom – with tremendous consequences for Western thought. For Cicero, voluntas populi becomes the binding force of a nominally popular but functionally aristocratic constitution. If this state of affairs looks familiar in today’s “democratic” republics, we have Cicero in part to thank. Insistence on the singularity of popular will and mistrust of the common citizen lie at the heart of today’s political crisis and will require Ciceronian creativity to fix.

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Chapter
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Cicero and the People’s Will
Philosophy and Power at the End of the Roman Republic
, pp. 1 - 14
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Introduction
  • Lex Paulson, Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique, Morocco
  • Book: Cicero and the People’s Will
  • Online publication: 24 November 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009082587.001
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  • Introduction
  • Lex Paulson, Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique, Morocco
  • Book: Cicero and the People’s Will
  • Online publication: 24 November 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009082587.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Lex Paulson, Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique, Morocco
  • Book: Cicero and the People’s Will
  • Online publication: 24 November 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009082587.001
Available formats
×