Physis And Nomos

Physis and nomos (the later can be called second nature) are a set of basic category inpolitical thoughts. The opposition and unification of the two made the developingvenation of political philosophy. Aristotle had end up the ancient political philosophyby unifying them. But with the Renaissance, the reformation of religion and the nationstates sprang up, the tension of physis and nomos emerged again. In this critical point,Hobbes reconstructed the physis (nature) began with human nature from individual togroup. And then he pointed the covenant——Leviathan which include brute forcethrough natural law the natural right implicated. Hobbes’s purpose of pointing fromphysis to nomos(covenant) is to made them reunified, but the two are one afteranother not both exist. So once the reconstructed nomos had completed, it displacedthe physis immediately. And as the “second physis”, it had ultimate authorityindependently. However, the more strengthen covenant of Leviathan is, the morefatefully disintegrated it is, despite of its enough power. So the reconstruction ofnomos hadn’t solve the political problem raised from the relation of physis and nomos,this because not only the paradox of Hobbes’s theory, but also several basic questionsof modern politic philosophy. Even if Hobbes’s theory can’t solve the problem ofphysis and nomos completely, his reconstruction of the two has profound significanceof the modern political philosophy.