Trials of Nature: The Infinite Law Court of Milton's Paradise Lost

This book explores the metaphorical identification of nature with a court of law in John Miltons Paradise Lost, investigating the tension between universal legal procedure and positive legal decrees of the deity. It demonstrates that the conflicts in Miltons epic revolve around the tension between a universal legal procedure inherent in nature and the positive legal decrees of the deity, using conceptual tools provided by Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Hans Blumenberg, Gilles Deleuze, William Empson, and Alfred North Whitehead. The analysis of this strange juridical structure can open up new perspectives on Miltons epic and the relationship between law, history, literature, and philosophy.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 01 August 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into the metaphorical association of nature with a court of law, a longstanding and enduring trope that has plagued jurisprudence, philosophy, and literature for centuries. Throughout a wide range of texts, dating from the earliest origins of Western literature to the seventeenth century, nature has been portrayed as a grand courtroom where a comprehensive trial unfolds, leading to a universal verdict. The first part of this study provides an overview of the evolution of metaphors in European history, spanning from antiquity to the seventeenth century. In its subsequent and more extensive section, the book focuses on John Milton's epic Paradise Lost, where the issue of the natural law court is explored in great detail. By employing conceptual tools borrowed from Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Hans Blumenberg, Gilles Deleuze, William Empson, and Alfred North Whitehead, the study demonstrates that the conflicts within Milton's epic revolve around the tension between a universal legal procedure inherent in nature and the positive legal decrees of the divine. It is found that the divine rule consolidates itself through nature's supplementary shadow government, whose inconsistencies are not perceived as flaws but rather as essential rhetorical devices that support a law that is inherently dualistic. In Milton's world, human beings are faced with a twofold law that entraps them in its endlessly proliferating double binds, whether they choose to obey or not. By analyzing this peculiar juridical structure, new perspectives can be gained on Paradise Lost and on the way legal discourse tends to intertwine norms with facts, thereby embedding itself in human life. This original and captivating book will appeal to scholars and enthusiasts alike, particularly those interested in the intersections of law, philosophy, and literature.

Weight: 730g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367653859