The Idea
This claim understands legal modernity as a shift from a logic grounded in «the rights of God» to a logic centered on human rights and positive laws. The meaning here is that legitimacy is no longer drawn primarily from religious authority, but from the idea of the human being as a bearer of rights. This transformation changes the place of law itself within the public sphere.
Concise Formulation
The modern age: practically replaced the rights of God with human rights and positive laws
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
In the book’s argument, this claim expresses one dimension of the historical transformation that Arkoun is concerned with: the shift of the center of gravity from theological authority to human authority. It is therefore not an isolated legal detail, but part of a broader description of an age that redefines authority, meaning, and right. Here, the book’s interest in changes in legitimacy appears rather than concern with legal formulations alone.
Why It Matters
The importance of this claim lies in that it highlights the distance between older ways of conceiving right and modern ways that place the human being at the center. This helps in understanding Arkoun as a reader of major changes in the meaning of justice and authority, not merely a critic of religious texts. It also connects his thought to contemporary questions of citizenship and rights.
Reading Questions
- How does the text understand the transition from the rights of God to human rights?
- Does this claim describe a completed transformation, or a historical process that is still open?
Degree of Documentation
Medium: the claim is composed from more than one place within the book’s material.