Gustav Hugo (1764-1844) and the sceptical theory of law. ‘Modern Roman law’ in the late Enlightenment

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Christoph Sorge
• Subject Area: Principles of Law and Jurisprudence
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 559060300

The work examines the scientific design of the Göttingen legal scholar Gustav Hugo (1764-1844). The starting point is the guiding thesis that a key to Hugo's work can be found in a moderate skepticism, an intellectual attitude cultivated since antiquity, that briefly experienced a powerful renaissance during the late Enlightenment in Göttingen. In response to three questions, Hugo developed a comprehensive reform programme that still structures jurisprudence today and leads to independent teaching and research goals. With “What is lawful?” he asked about the applicable law and legal dogmatics, with “Is it reasonable that it is law?” he asked about legal philosophy and with “How did it become law?” he asked about legal history. In developing these three areas, Hugo not only drew on the tradition of ancient Roman legal sources, but also enriched the material with skeptical ideas from modern times. There are references to humanist legal scholars such as Jacques Cujas (1522-1590), to British Enlightenment thinkers such as Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) and David Hume (1711-1776) as well as to Göttingen scholars such as Ludwig Timotheus Spittler (1752-1810), all within a framework of scepticism. Hugo thus simultaneously reformed the categorisation originally based on Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and set other emphases, developing, for example, a probabilistic textbook on natural law ‘as a philosophy of positive law’ based on history, experience and observation. The humanist jurists of the mos gallicus, who were also strongly influenced by scepticism, and certain currents in contemporary philology were of great importance for Hugo's treatment and reception of Roman legal sources. The young Hugo had already acquired a closely related concept of education in the ‘Dessau-Wörlitzer Kulturkreis‘, where he was introduced and integrated as a prince's tutor under Leopold III. The study also pays particular attention to Hugo's view of legal doctrine, i.e. his treatment of ‘modern Roman law’, whose conception is prima facie at odds with scepticism. Contrary to the prevailing view in Hugo research, however, it can be shown that Hugo selectively refers to Roman jurists to justify his dogmatics based on temporary ‘Rechtswahrheiten’, who, according to the thesis of the Romanist Okko Behrends, were influenced by the moderate scepticism of the Younger Academy and cultivated a corresponding institutional legal thinking. To connect these intellectual traditions, which in Hugo's work set in motion a unique kind of ‘Battle of the Books’, with his life journey, the study also thoroughly examines the political and social context referenced by Hugo. This includes events in the local vicinity, such as the introduction of the poll tax in the province or the political faction of the "sceptical Hanoverian Whigs" (Osterhammel), as well as major events like the French Revolution, to discuss the ensuing debate on the 'true' and 'false' Enlightenment, which Hugo closely observed and critiqued.

• DFG Programme: Publication Grants