AbstractsLaw & Legal Studies

Most considerations of Thomas Carlyle centre around one aspect of his thought or writing. Carlyle’s comprehensive method of writing - selecting a portion of a philosophical or practical system here which suits his purpose, rejecting a component of another system there - would seem to defy complete analysis and explanation under any single heading. To those seeking an understanding of Carlyle’s personal religion and philosophy, Sartor Resartus forms the central document. To other men who could not fathom this transcendantal, mystical thinking Carlyle left his practical gospel of “Work” and “Duty” for their edification. The men who were to lead their fellows in society to the best possible way of life were the “Heroes”, the intuitive seers of Carlyle’s ideal government. But behind and beyond all these conceptions the question remains - what was the fundamental core of Carlyle’s philosophical system, which he applied in a most practical way to everyday social life? What sanctions - divine, intuitive or logical - did he have for taking his most pronounced, absolutist view of life and government? How did this belief begin, and can its development and consistent application be traced in Carlyle’s writings? The object of this study will be to establish that Carlyle’s ultimate authority in all his pronouncements is what is usually referred to in his writings as the “Laws of Nature”.[...]