Pufendorf and Cartesianism - Medicine as leading science and the role of Biblical hermeneutics in Pufendorf's defence of natural law around 1680

The question of Samuel Pufendorf's inclusion of medical and natural science in his thought horizon is considered a research problem today in view of the contents of his library. The essay examines this question from the perspective of the 'double kappa' factor--the synthesis of Cartesianism and Coccejanism--in Pufendorf's thought. It thereby also evaluates new sources in the natural rights debate. At the centre of what Pufendorf considered the link between medicine and Cartesian philosophy lies the philosophical concept of science and knowledge followed by doctors and used by Pufendorf in his ethics civilis. This raises the biblical-hermeneutic question of how to evaluate the knowledge found in biblical texts without completely dismissing their authority in moral matters. The study examines the philosophical, theological and medical-historical contexts underlying Pufendorf's 'philosophical science'.