The value of Pufendorf in the development of modern legal thought

The tradition of Aristotle and Plato remained influential in ethics, law, and epistemology until the 16th century. In medieval thought, members of the Abrahamic religions blended their religious ideas with the Aristotelian tradition. Descartes and the criticism of ancient philosophy began to add a new perspective to this tradition. The site and colony environment in which ancient philosophy was formed was foreign to Europe. Catholicism faced challenges in Europe, leading to the emergence of a reformed Central European sect. Unlike in Ancient Greece, borders were not clear and authority was disputed. At this point, contrary to ancient thought, European thinkers were thinking about a new political order. Under the leadership of Francisco Suarez and Jesuit priests, in contrast to Thomist thought, the idea of a social order formed as a result of the will of people was put forward instead of political thought resembling the combination of state and individual. Pufendorf was born in the climate of Protestant Germany at a point where the dilemma of Euthyphro was discussed. There were debates on voluntarism and rationalism. Amid these debates Pufendorf, embarked upon this new challenge, criticized some of the ideas of his predecessors Grotius and Suarez and made progress in some fields.