L’impietas et la peur du noir de M. Hobbes

La superstitio dans l’œuvre de G.W. Leibniz

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the study of the semantic value of the word superstitio in the work of G.W. Leibniz. In its first part, the article considers the sources that contributed to the semantic determination of this lexeme during the formative period of the philosopher, through an analysis of the occurrences of this word both in the reading notes and in the first legal texts. This examination allows us to isolate a typically Leibnizian meaning of superstitio, the originality of which will be highlighted in the second part, thanks to a comparison with the definitions of the same word proposed in the main philosophical lexicons of the modern period. Finally, in its last part, the article analyses the Leibnizian use of the word superstitio in political and scholarly contexts, showing how the conceptualisation of the lexeme in the philosophical domain also proves to be functional and effective both in the context of the irenic projects and in its application to the philosopher’s historiographical methodology.

English title: Impietas and Hobbes’ Fear of the Dark. Superstitio in Leibniz’s Works