Michel Villey’s theory diagnoses the shift in Western legal philosophy from "classical objective right" to "modern subjective rights," viewing human rights as an ideological distortion that divorces law from reality. [ 1 , 2 ] Core Concepts Classical Objective Right ( Iustum ): Rooted in Aristotelian and Thomistic natural law. It views the law as a cosmic or social objective order . "Right" was not a possession of a person, but rather the just proportion or balance to be discovered in the external world (e.g., giving each person their due in a specific relationship or transaction). [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ] Nominalism: A philosophical movement championed by thinkers like William of Ockham that denied the existence of universal truths or inherent natures. It posited that reality consists only of isolated particulars. [ 1 , 2 ] Modern Subjective Right ( Facultas ): Because nominalism denied objective meaning in nature, the foundation of reality shifted to the i...
AI Overview Michel Villey famously argued that this shift transformed law from objective justice into subjective rights (droits subjectifs). He traced this transition to a medieval philosophical revolution—specifically William of Ockham’s nominalism.Villey's critique outlines how the concept of law mutated:Classical (Aristotelian/Roman) Justice: Rooted in objective reality, where the goal of a judge or jurist is to observe interpersonal relationships and discover the proper, objective share/balance (suum cuique—to each his due) in real-world scenarios.Modern Subjective Rights: Rooted in nominalism, where the external, natural order is denied in favor of "individual will." Under this framework, law is inverted into a power or arbitrary subjective claim inherently possessed by an individual (the precursor to modern "human rights").The Core of Villey's ArgumentNominalism over Realism: By shifting philosophical focus to nominalism, the medieval era abandoned the idea that things in the real world have an inherent, discoverable nature or objective value.Focus on the Individual: The focus shifted from the external, interpersonal act of doing justice to the internal faculties and personal claims of the individual.The "Tool" of Law: Villey argued that this perverts the purpose of law; rather than acting as the art of finding a just balance among competing claims, law becomes merely an instrument or a weapon used to enforce arbitrary, subjective human will.Villey outlined these ideas extensively across his historical works, exploring how the Franciscan debates of the Middle Ages first pioneered this subjective concept of ius. You can explore the historical mechanics of his thesis in The origins of the modern notion of subjective right or examine his broader Aristotelian framework on justice in The essence of law according to Michel Villey.
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