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Gratitude and Grace in Early Modern Political Thought

Tim Stuart-Buttle| Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies Fellowship

This research projects revisit gratitude’s reported banishment from the political sphere in early modern political theory. Early modern political theorists were no less convinced than their predecessors that the smooth functionating of the economy of gift and gratitude was essential to the harmony and flourishing of a civilized society. The disposition to feel and express gratitude was widely held as indispensable in deepening and reinforcing citizens’ respect for justice and [political authority, and in forging civic bonds. This, however, raised (and raises) pressing troubling questions about how the disposition might be cultivated in citizens of modern states, and directed to proper object(s).