title: [The controversy between Grotius, Hobbes and Spinoza on the jus circa sacra texts, pretexts, contexts and circomstances].
abstract: In this contribution, I sketch out a methodological framework for the study of controversies in the history of philosophy. It is built around four basic components: texts, contexts, pretexts and circumstances. I show how, once these four elements have been identified and systematically distinguished and distributed, a controversy has been localized and circumscribed. I show, moreover, how controversies are formally linked to each other through the migration of texts from one context to another. Next, I take as an example the controversy on the jus circa sacra, or "right of holy matters," a key controversy in the political philosophy of the early modern period, focusing in particular on the work by Grotius, Hobbes and Spinoza.
authors.affiliation: IHRIM (UMR 5317), 15 parvis René Descartes, BP 7000, 69342, Lyon Cedex 07, France. mogens.laerke@ens-lyon.fr.
authors.forename: Mogens
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lærke
keywords: Controversy; Grotius; Hobbes; Spinoza; jus circa sacra